August, the hottest month of the year, is a great time to keep your garden thriving with these simple tasks. Many gardens reach their peak this month, making it the perfect opportunity to appreciate their vibrant colours, structure, and fragrance.

Read on for our list of August's most essential gardening jobs to help your plants look their best throughout late summer.

Garden maintenance

Watering

Keep your plants well watered through the summer heat, paying particular attention to newly planted shrubs & perennials which are most vulnerable to drying out.

Mulching

Apply a generous mulch of well-rotted garden compost, leaf mould or manure to help lock in moisture for longer. Spread the mulch after a good downpour or thorough watering.

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Perennials

Divide herbaceous perennials to ensure healthy, vigorous plants. By lifting and dividing these plants, this will rejuvenate the original plant but also create new ones to spread throughout the garden.

Continue to deadhead other perennials to ensure consistent blooming – penstemons, dahlias, heleniums, astrantia, cosmos and many others benefit from the removal of dead flowerheads, enabling the plant to focus its energy into producing more blooms instead of setting seed.

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Seeds

August is the perfect time to gather seeds from your favourite garden plants, such perennials and hardy annuals, while they are still fresh and viable. As flowers begin to fade and seed heads mature, you can harvest seeds from plants like aquilegia, poppies, foxgloves, calendula, and nigella.

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Vegetables

Continue harvesting vegetables like tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, and courgettes. Regular picking encourages more production.

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