Five gardening jobs to do in August - from 'deadheading' to trimming hedges
A new book, which is set to be released next month, has shared what gardening jobs you need to do for next month.
August is one of the best months of the year to get outdoors and enjoy the British weather which means it is a prime month for gardening.
Next month, there are plenty of jobs to get done from pruning to deadheading, mulching and weeding.
The prime summer month coincides with the release of a new book called, The RHS Garden Almanac 2025, which is set to be released on August 8, 2024.
Inside the book, garden experts have shared their month-by-month guide to the best-ever gardening year.
The gardening experts have shared what jobs you need to do next month to ensure you have a blooming garden for the months ahead and have shared an extract exclusively with Express.co.uk.
1. Trim hedges
The experts said: "After baby birds have fledged, check for active nests before you start. Cut your hedge so that the base is slightly broader than the top, to allow light to reach the bottom - use taut strings as guides to achieve a level top and straight sides.
"Yew and deciduous hedges regrow from old wood, but only cut into new wood when trimming conifers."
2. Take semi-ripe shrub cuttings
This could be from Choisya, Escallonia, evergreen Euonymus, Lonicera ligustrina var, yunnanensis and conifers.
The experts explained: "Cut 10-15cm (4-6in) lengths of stem from the current season's growth. Remove the soft tips and all but the top four leaves.
"Plunge the stems into pots of gritty potting compost up to the first set of leaves, water and cover with a recycled plastic bag. They should root in a few weeks."
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3. Deadhead dahlias and other flowers
The experts said: "Dahlias bloom until the frosts, and plants should be bushy and well-branched by now but, if not, pinch out the growing tips.
"Remove the cone-shaped, faded flowers and leave the new fat round buds."
4. Collect seeds
The book reads: "Ripe pods that have turned brown and you can hear seeds rattling inside, or wait until the plant sheds its first seeds. Cut stems of pods and pop them in paper bags or lay them in seed trays lined with newspaper.
"Once dry, extract the seeds and store them in labelled containers for sowing next year. Agapanthus, Nigella and hardy geranium are easy to grow from collected seed - geranium pods explode and scatter seed, so leave them to ripen in paper bags."
5. Watering parched laws
The book details: "[If the lawn] has turned yellow or brown during prolonged dry periods it is wasteful and unnecessary since the grass will soon green up again from rain returns."
Do you have any other suggestions for gardening jobs to do in August? Let us know in the comments below.
