Garden Diary

August Garden Diary

August is often a month of contrasts. The garden is at its colourful best, yet weeks of warm weather can begin to take their toll. While holidays and outdoor entertaining take priority, a little regular maintenance now will protect all the hard work you've invested throughout the year and keep your garden looking its best into autumn.

Beds and Borders

Many late summer favourites, including agapanthus, echinacea, crocosmia and monarda, will now be providing spectacular displays. Taller plants may need discreet staking to keep them upright during heavy rain or summer winds.

Continue deadheading flowering plants to encourage fresh blooms rather than seed production. Sweet peas, dahlias and roses all reward regular attention with weeks of additional colour.

Warm weather also brings increased pest activity. Check new shoots regularly for aphids, caterpillars and other pests. Dealing with problems while they're still small is usually more effective than waiting until damage becomes obvious. Slugs remain active too, particularly after summer showers, and biological controls such as nematodes remain an effective option.

Patio Gardening

Containers and hanging baskets often become the stars of the August garden but need regular care to stay at their best.

Water thoroughly whenever compost begins to dry, aiming to soak the root ball rather than applying frequent light watering. Continue feeding throughout the month, as nutrients in compost become depleted after several weeks of vigorous growth.

Trim back any trailing plants that have become untidy and remove faded flowers regularly to encourage fresh growth and prolong the display well into autumn.

Lawn Care

After such a prolonged dry spell, many lawns are now showing obvious signs of drought stress. Brown or straw-coloured grass can look alarming, but the reassuring news is that brown does not necessarily mean dead. Established grass can naturally become dormant during prolonged hot, dry weather, slowing its growth and sacrificing colour to conserve moisture. Once cooler conditions and rainfall return, much of it should begin recovering naturally.

Continue mowing only where the grass is actively growing and avoid cutting too short. Leaving the grass slightly longer helps shade the soil, reduces moisture loss and protects the grass plant during periods of stress.

You may also wonder whether a drought-stressed lawn should still be fed. The right professional treatment, correctly selected and applied for the conditions, can safely support the lawn through drought and its subsequent recovery. At Greener Gardens, we use specialist professional feeds and adjust our applications according to the weather and condition of the lawn, rather than simply applying the same treatment regardless of circumstances.

As we move towards autumn, we are also adapting our seasonal treatments specifically to support drought recovery. The priority will be to help grass regain strength, encourage healthy root development and assess how well individual lawns have recovered once rainfall and more favourable growing conditions return.

Not every brown or thin lawn will need renovating. At Greener Gardens, lawn care begins with understanding the lawn itself. Soil condition, drainage, shade, thatch, compaction and the extent of drought damage all help determine what treatment — if any — is needed.

Where grass has genuinely been lost, autumn provides an excellent opportunity for more intensive recovery work such as scarification, aeration and overseeding while soils remain warm enough for establishment.

If your lawn has significant bare or thinning areas, enquire now about our autumn Lawn Refresh and renovation work. Spaces are limited and are already being booked.

If you choose to water your lawn, water deeply but less frequently rather than applying small amounts every day. Encouraging moisture deeper into the soil helps develop stronger roots and improves the lawn's resilience to future dry periods.

Grow Your Own

Continue sowing salads and herbs for late summer and autumn harvesting. Keep tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers evenly watered to encourage healthy growth and reduce fruit splitting.

Regular harvesting of beans, courgettes and other productive crops will encourage plants to continue cropping for weeks to come.

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Garden Diary is written by John Draper of Greener Gardens, your local independent BASIS Lawn Assured specialist and past Chairman of the UK Lawn Care Association.

Concerned about how your lawn is coping with the drought? Contact the Greener Gardens team on 0115 837 8439 to discuss your lawn, or contact us through our website.