“Patience, the seedling said to me, patience. By August, you will not recognise me.” Gardening in August is when that quote really resonates loudly and clearly. Can you believe the glorious Claret sunflower* in this month’s cover pic was sown from seed way back in March? And that’s true of nearly everything that I’m sharing from our August garden this time. Flowers, fruits, and vegetables are all bursting with life, as is my August gardening to do list!
What to do in the garden in August
Gardening in August would normally see me watering everything (pots, raised beds, greenhouse, and ponds) for 90 minutes every other evening. Not so this summer, thanks to all the rain we’ve been experiencing in the UK, there’s been no need to water plants. However, the lack of sunshine means a lot of my usual August flowers haven’t flowered as well, or even at all yet. But swings and roundabouts, the fruits and vegetables are storming away and putting on lots of new growth daily. So this month one of the best August gardening tips I can give you is to take the time enjoy your garden in all its lush green glory.
August flowering plants
Apart from sunflowers, other flowers that bloom in August include sweet peas. Although ours haven’t been very productive this year, unfortunately, and I know from my fellow gardeners over on Instagram that I’m not alone. Fortunately, we don’t need to rely on them for fragrance, our two buddleias are full of blooms and bees and butterflies too. Buddleias are hardy souls and are often found growing through stone or concrete, so ours are thriving in the good garden soil.
Our later flowering honeysuckles are also throwing out lots of scent, even though the earlier ones have already set their berries. As you may recall from last month, I discovered honeysuckle is edible (both blooms and berries) so watch this space…!
If you’re looking for colour and fragrance, you won’t go far wrong with some phlox. We have both white and purple phlox and they keep giving each year. Easy to grow and reliable, if you’re looking for some perennials to plant in August, do try phlox.
And we also have some pretty pink carnations, and gorgeous night scented stock*. I scattered handfuls of stock seeds in most of our pots earlier this year and the spicy, clove like fragrance that wafts around the garden in the evening is phenomenal, out of all proportion to the size of the little purple blooms.
I featured these glowing purple Campanulas last month and they’re still going strong. As is the purple clematis whose name I can’t remember. Both are perennials so once you plant them and they get established, they’ll come back every year with no extra help from you.
Other perennial plants with flowers to plant in August for late summer and early autumn displays are Japanese anemones – like these lovely white and pink ones in different parts of our garden. They’re happy in sun or shade, very easy going plants.
And I couldn’t not share the glorious sunburst colours of our two Crocosmia plants. The red one is Lucifer and the little orange one is another plant whose name I don’t recall! Both started out life as shrivelled corms though, and have taken a few years to reach this stage (something to consider when you’re planning a garden).
Do you remember my weedy little cosmos seedlings from April? Well, they’re doing a lot better now. On the left is Cosmos Lemonade* and on the right is Cosmos Dazzler*.
And the white flowering hydrangea by our front door is still looking lovely, as is the dwarf pink hydrangea by our raspberry canes.
Lastly, gardening in August wouldn’t be complete without at least one new addition to the garden. And here is a Nepeta, in between our pink Salvia and some cherry brandy Rudbeckias. Also known as cat mint, this is presumably why Spooky is taking such an interest. I have a feeling I may need to move her to a sunnier spot in due course, but we’ll see how things go.
Vegetable gardening in August
Some of the best late summer vegetables to plant in August are quick to grow salad leaf crops* and don’t forget those deliciously crunchy radishes* too. And it’s not too late to try some carrots* either – but my top tip is to plant some spring onions* alongside to mask the carrot smell and deter the carrot fly pest. Other vegetables that can be planted in August are cabbages* and Swiss chard* ready for Autumn and Winter harvesting. In fact, now is the perfect time to be planning your Winter vegetable gardenhttps://www.gardenersworld.com/plants/vegetable-seeds-to-sow-in-august/, while the soil is warm, so the growing season can get well underway before the first frost. Yes, vegetable gardening is a year round occupation, and it’s certainly not too late to find some seeds to sow in August.
I’m absolutely thrilled that my experiment with companion planting in some raised bed gardening has worked so well. (This is when you plant certain flowers alongside vegetables or fruits to encourage beneficial insects, repel pests, and help all plants grow). In the one of the smaller beds, I planted sweetcorn*, French beans*, Claret sunflowers* and a few spare sweet pea seedlings. Vertical planting at its finest. The gorgeous bronze sunflowers we’ve been picking for the house, the beans we’ve been having for Sunday lunch, and I can report that the sweetcorn were THE sweetest, crunchiest cobs we have ever tasted. Tip: wait until the silks at the top of your corn go dark brown, then your cobs will be ready to harvest.
Over in the other bed are the rest of our multi-coloured climbing French beans* and behind those are the outdoor cucumbers* and little cucamelons*. And those gorgeous deep red blooms in front of the cucumber are my Rudbeckia Cherry Brandy* plants.
Inside the greenhouse, our tomato plants* have been yielding some delicious fruits already, as has our indoor cucumber* plant. I know I say this every year but homegrown tomatoes and cucumbers taste fabulous, nothing at all like shop bought ones which are so watery and insipid by comparison.
I planted out my tiny Romanesco* cauliflower seedlings at the end of July, and invested in a zip up netted cage* to shield them from pigeons and butterflies laying eggs. And it’s been one of the best investments I’ve ever made, I only wish I’d bought one sooner. Tip: inspect your plants thoroughly before you cage them though. Unfortunately, I missed a few eggs, so a few of the plants got munched, but I removed the caterpillars to another sacrificial plant, so fingers crossed…
But gardening in August is a daily delight as some of our fruit bushes have allowed daily grazing when we walk around. Here are our gooseberry and blackcurrant bushes, and our later fruiting blueberry bush. Blueberries prefer acid soil and ours is more alkaline, so I’ve potted up both plants with some ericaceous compost to keep them happy and fruitful.
Here are our plum tree, kiwi bush, and beautiful old apple tree. The apples are ripe and thudding to the floor, and the plums and kiwis should be ready to harvest next month, fingers crossed.
And just look at our grapevine – words fail me!
Unfortunately, something has happened to our pear tree, which currently only has three pears on it. No idea why, just one of those things, sadly. But that’s all part of the fun of gardening, sometimes things don’t go to plan. And remember, there are no gardening failures, only experiments!
August gardening to do list
As mentioned earlier, thanks to all the rain one of my gardening jobs to do in August is not watering, for a change. But I’ll still be weeding, pruning and dead heading at least every other day to encourage new flowers. And staking or tying in new growth on any plants that need extra support at the same time. The grass in both our garden and orchard is growing super fast so Alan is mowing the grass on a weekly basis at the moment. On the upside, it keeps his step count high…
The August gardening calendar is also the perfect time to plan ahead with some seeds to plant in August for future flowers. Think colourful calendulas*, cornflowers*, forget-me-nots and poppies – all beloved by pollinators and a joy to look at too.
Wildlife gardening jobs for August
Following last month’s experiment with running the pond pump less frequently, and investing in a few more pond lily plants, the water is much clearer. And I’m absolutely thrilled that our baby goldfish are thriving, we are clearly doing something right! We don’t know where they came from, so we’re guessing our existing goldfish started breeding 🙂 And it’s always a joy to spot the water boatmen skating across the surface of the water and all the electric blue male and deep brown female damselflies hovering around. Not to mention the tiny little frogs that live in it too.
As always, Alan is still filling up the bird feeders with nuts and fat balls every day. Honestly, our garden birds are completely spoiled.
Gardening in August – a summary
So we’ve reached the end of my August gardening update – the last month of summer. While there are always lots of other gardening things to do in August, this is what we’ve been doing in our patch. And I hope I’ve answered all your questions, such as:
- What can I plant in August?
- What vegetables can be planted in August?
- Are there any specific August gardening chores?
Have you enjoyed your virtual visit to our August garden and orchard this month? Which of my gardening tips did you find most interesting/helpful? I’m looking forward to next month, the first month of Autumn when I’ll be making my usual damson gin and getting on with lots of jam making. Until then, I hope you enjoy what’s left of this month, and that we get some late summer sunshine at last. Because sadly, “Summer’s lease hath all too short a date” don’t you think?
What have you been growing in your garden or outside space this month? Any successes or failures you’d care to share? What do you love most about gardening in August?
* This post features affiliate links but all opinions are my own (see my Disclaimer).
I am literally clearing my garden today. These are great ideas for maintaining summer flowers as well as vegetables. Your garden is beautiful.
Thank you so much, that’s very kind – and happy gardening to you 🙂
Don’t ask me what I’ve grown because I’m far from having green fingers! I’m really impressed with your flowers and veg! They’re incredible, well done!
Soffy
Ah, thank you, Soffy – it’s a lot of trial and error, to be honest, but we’ve been lucky in the main this year 🙂
That’s such a cute picture of your cat! I love your gardening posts, and jam-making sounds amazing x
Actually I’ve featured both Loki and Spooky but they’re both black and look the same! And thank you x
So many things in bloom! I’m currently loving all the Cosmos – such pretty flowers, I have some at my desk. The sweetcorn on our allotment isn’t ready yet but hopefully soon. I did an hour of weeding yesterday and it was so relaxing aha x
Cosmos are amazing, so easy to grow and so prolific once they get going! And yes, I love weeding too, it’s so calming and so satisfying 🙂 x
Your fruit and veg look awesome! Thanks for the tips of corn on the cob, I’ll be looking to plant some over the next 12 months. I’m in Oz so my daughter and I planted watermelon, spinach, tomatoes and cucumbers on Saturday, so excited to see how we go 🙂
Oh that’s amazing, I’ve never tried watermelon, that’s one for my bucket list – I’ve seen pictures of people using old bras to support their melons, it looks so funny but I guess completely practical too!
Wow! Your garden always looks so beautiful. I’m in love. I enjoyed the virtual visit to your garden. I want to have a garden someday and your garden posts keep giving me motivation. I love that your tomatoes and cucumbers are starting to yield delicious fruits. That’s some hardwork paying off right there. Also, that corn you harvested looks so good. Oh Jesus! I need to start gardening ASAP. Looks like there’s so much good stuff with the garden this month. Thank you so much for sharing.
Ah, thank you so much, Ruth, that’s so kind – you’re right, it is a lot of hard work but it’s fun too, and getting to harvest the produce, edible or otherwise, makes it all worthwhile!
It’s so lovely to visit your garden even tho by virtual. I love looking at flowers. And you seem to have nice ones. Your cat must be very lucky.
Thank you, Fadima, we are very lucky – and yes, I agree, so are our cats!
You have a real gift for gardening it seems — when I read your posts they always make me think of my favourite gardens and the special memories I have of them (for now I get my fix by visiting my local botanical garden). Thanks for sharing your expertise!
Oh my goodness, Molly, thank you, that’s the loveliest thing to say – I’m so happy you enjoy these posts, although I’d never call myself an expert, just an enthusiastic amateur!
I absolutely love Carnations! They were my nan’s favourite flower too!
They are such a traditional cottage garden bloom, aren’t they? 🙂
Your garden never fails to inspire me! It’s so beautiful and colourful, I’d love to have one like it someday. Thanks for sharing x
Thank you so much, that’s very kind, I hope you get your own garden too someday x
It’s so good to know that flowers don’t tend to bloom in August. We’ve been doing our garden this summer but not had much luck with our flowers and plants. Loved the pics of your honeysuckle. I love the scent of it.
Certainly most of our flowers bloom in May/June/July, by August the focus has shifted to fruit and veg – thank you, honeysuckle is one of my faves too.
You have certainly been busy in the garden Lisa, I love that you’ve planted quite a few vegetables! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
Thank you, yes, I’m giving more veg a go this year, so far so good! x
The weather has been very erratic lately and not having a balance of both water and sun can lead to some sad flowers. It makes me smile to see all your happy blooms in such a beautiful array of colors and styles, and your fruit is doing nicely too! We picked a batch of peaches last month and are now getting pears and apples.
Thank you for sharing yet another explosive garden diary!
Ah, you are so lucky, our peach tree has given up fruiting, I think. It’s just a frame for our rambling rose now, alas. Very glad you enjoyed this month’s garden update, Jaya!
What a beautiful garden you have! The flowers are so pretty and loved seeing your veggies! You sure have a green thumb!
xoxo
Lovely
http://www.mynameislovely.com
Thank you very much, that’s extremely kind of you to say so!
As ever Lisa your garden is inspirational!
My poor clematis is struggling this year and my dads have died off completely sadly so nice to see your beautiful ones.
I love the smell of honeysuckle, often I’ll go outside in the evening just to get a honeysuckle hit!
I harvested my Dads garden yesterday, lots of cucumber, courgettes the size of marrows, chillis and a rainbow selection of tomatoes, I can report that they were delicious!
Oh wow, Claire, that’s really lovely of you to say so! And I agree completely about evening scented honeysuckle, it’s the best 🙂 Also, sounds like you got a great harvest too, yum, homegrown rocks 🙂
Your garden is my favourite, it’s lovely to see how it looks through each month. I’ll be sad when summer is over and the garden goes into hibernation!
Rosie
Thank you, Rosie – I have to admit I’ll be secretly happy, as it will give us a little break from mowing, weeding, etc, etc!
Great garden update! Thanks for sharing this! I agree it’s always good to add some colour to your garden! Love the variety of fruit and vegetables you’ve been growing! Your garden looks lovely!
Thank you so much, I’m so glad you enjoyed the post!
I always look forward to your garden posts Lisa! Your garden is spectacular and your photos are beautiful. We have had an atypically hot summer with weeks of drought which have brought with it some successes (the tomatoes have gone mad) and some failures (sweet corn only had a couple of edible cobs). Thanks once again for sharing.
Ah, thank you so much, Jodie, that’s so kind – I’m glad you had some tomatoes, even if the sweetcorn didn’t quite work this year!
Gorgeous!! I love your garden, it’s so beautiful.
I bought an orange Crocosmia this month, it’s called George Davidson, if you think you have the same one. I’m still looking at labels and arrange them properly in my folders or I will not remember anything.
Thank you, Anca! I had a look at George Davidson but I don’t think that’s the same one I have – it will have to remain a mystery for now 🙂
That’s awesome you guys had rain. It definitely helps a lot watering the garden for you. Your garden looks amazing!
Thank you, and yes, it’s made a pleasant change this year!
Beautiful your plants, I loved the way you take care of them.
Kisses and have a good week.
https://beperes.blogspot.com/
Thank you – and the same to you.
Your garden is looking wonderful! I love when all the sunflowers bloom, they are my favourite flowers so I really enjoy walking out with a cuppa in the morning and seeing the sunflowers facing me. As always, I’ll be forwarding this to my gran as I’m sure she’s going to love having a read about gardening x
Thank you, Jordanne – and yes, there’s something about sunflowers, isn’t there? Hope your gran approves of this post in due course then 🙂 x
Oh I love this! Now I’ve got my own garden to take care of (felt very proud for cutting the grass for the first time last week aha) I’m going to have to start taking proper notes of what I should be doing when! Great wrap-up.
Oh yay, you’ve got a garden! But don’t worry about what you “should” be doing, just enjoy your outside space and have fun – look forward to hearing what you grow in due course 🙂
those purple campulas look gorgeous! your garden is beautiful girl
Thank you so much 🙂
I have been having a lot of rain recently too. My poor garden is starting to slow down now. Between the hurricane and the previous 90+ degree weather, my vegetable garden has seen better days. But, I’m excited to plant fall crops! It’ll be my first year doing them. Best of luck to you for September!
Alexis
Oh my goodness, you have been having an interesting time weather-wise, your poor garden! Fingers crossed for you for September planting – and thank you 🙂
I love your gardening updates! Ahh it’s so refreshing seeing a sea of colour and all of your pretty flowers x
Thank you, Della, that’s very kind x
So pretty and colourful! And I agree, food from your garden is so much better than food from the supermarket.
Thank you, Bettie, that’s very kind 🙂
That’s one gorgeous sunflower! I also love the harvest time a lot. Thank you for sharing your beautiful pics xx
It really is, a lovely change from all-yellow! xx
That’s like the most beautiful sunflower I have ever seen…the rich orange in the middle, just WOW! Oohh, nice to have some corn in your garden. You’re definitely my favorite blog for gardening stuff and home DIY too. You take care of your garden and crops so well. Everyone can see the commitment and passion. Thanks for sharing, Lisa!
Ah thank you so much, Monique, that’s very kind of you – I do have to agree about the sunflower, I don’t think I’ll be going back to plain yellow again now!
I love this time of year when our tomato plants start to really produce. We tend to include raw tomatoes in our diet as much as possible when they’re available. Tomato salads, tomato sandwiches, you name it! This year, however, with the change in the weather (we’ve been getting more rain as well) it seems to have done some great things for our beefsteak tomatoes. I’ve never seen them produce as much as they have this year and we’re here for it! lol
You can’t beat picking and eating fresh tomatoes straight off the vine, can you? I’ve never tried beefsteak tomatoes though, we always go for rainbow cherry toms – maybe we’ve been missing out!
Lisa, your garden is gorgeous! Honestly would feel so peaceful sitting in it. Great to see so much love but also work put into it!
xoxo Olivia | http://www.oliviaandbeauty.com
Ah, thank you very much, Olivia – it’s hard work but worth it, glad you enjoyed the update 🙂
You’ve grown some really pretty flowers – I love hydrangeas and carnations!
Serena
Thank you, we do too 🙂
My goodness, Lisa, your garden updates are always so inspiring! That grapevine is insane – we have three baby vines and I hope one day they’re that size. Love the hydrangeas too, they’re beautiful 🙂
mia // https://beautiful-inspiring-creative-life.com/
Thank you, Mia – yes, our grapevine is a little wild 🙂 I’m sure your babies will be too one day!
Your garden is full of such a beautiful flowers. Enjoy in these period of year.
http://www.exclusivebeautydiary.com
Thank you very much, we are indeed.
My Japanese anemones are thriving at the moment, so are the California poppies! Our next door neighbour had a massive buddleia that overgrew so they cut it down. Loads of the bits landed in our garden, so I threw them down the side of our garage … We now have a massive buddleia growing there in amongst all the stones and hardcore!! It’s amazing what will grow where 🙂 xx
Buddleias are among Nature’s miracle, they seem to grow everywhere and anywhere – I’ve seen some growing in the guttering on 4 storey buildings and I know they’re the bane of Highways and Network Rail – good job they’re so beautiful and pollinator friendly! Lucky you to have a giant for free 🙂 xx
Your garden looks so beautiful !I wish I had more of a green thumb! Our veggie patch is not looking too good – we had a few weeks where storms were predicted but they never hit so I didn’t water as regularly as I would have and it’s really suffered for it sadly! I think the cold snap was responsible for the death of the tomatoes though!
Hope your week is going well.
Thank you, Mica! Yes, we’ve been quite lucky with our garden this summer, despite the lack of regular sunshine. Fingers crossed for a milder Autumn 🙂
Wow…amazing flowers and vegetables..great job dear…well done 🙂
Beauty and Fashion/
Thank you very much 🙂
Beautiful!! Lots of vegetables, fruits, and flowers?! This has to be my dream garden. This post reminded me that I need to plant some fall/winter produce.
Thank you so much for sharing your garden updates, I really enjoy reading and learning from it.
Loren | plaidandsugar.com
Ah thank you so much, Loren, that’s very kind, and I’m very pleased my garden posts are useful – happy autumn/winter planting!
My back garden is in full bloom at the moment, but I’m sure it won’t be long before autumn is here proper. I’m not quite sure what happened to my sunflower though.
It’s been an odd year for sunflowers – round here they’ve done really well but not so good in other parts.