August gardening

Get busy in the garden with the kids this August

Don’t know what to do with the kids in the summer holidays? Give them a trowel and get them working in the garden. They’ll learn about how things grow and they love harvesting veg like potatoes.

Here is a list of things to keep them and you busy this month:

Keep patio container plants well watered and feed every fortnight.

Trim back any perennials, like geraniums and lavender, which have already flowered and are looking untidy.

Prune back Wisteria.

Harvest sweetcorn if it’s ready – if not give it a feed.

Cut out old raspberry canes and tie in new canes to a support system.

Water everything if the weather is dry. Kids love filling up watering cans – it does not take any technical expertise but they really feel like they are helping.

Take cuttings of herbs like rosemary and plant in moist compost.

Prune climbing roses that do not flower again.

Pinch out the tips of your runner bean plants once they reach the top of their support. This will prevent them getting too lofty to pick.

Harvest potatoes if ready – discard any green ones.

Squash cabbage white eggs under cabbage leaves.

Keep weeding – these plants are stealing nutrients from your wanted plants.

Don’t cut back grasses – they will continue to provide interest right through the winter if you let them – imagine frost or a sprinkling of snow on the tips.

Certain bulbs like pretty colchicums need planting right now.

Keep ponds topped up.

Finally, sit back with a glass of something chilled and enjoy the fruits of your labour.

Jo Manfredi-Hamer is the founder of Jo Manfredi-Hamer Garden Design