BRHS - Burton Rossett Horticultural Society Gardening News

By EssentialsMAG gardening contributor CAROL EDWARDS

August is a lovely month as it has some lovely colours with flowers in yellow, orange, copper, red, burgundy and purple. In short, all the vibrant colours of the season. It is the last official month of the summer so do enjoy your gardens, won’t you!

There are quite a number of fruits and vegetables to be harvested in August. We have had a really good crop of raspberries and loganberries this year, which are now in the freezer. Our tomatoes and runnerbeans have done well too - so we are looking forward to eating them.

Hanging baskets will need watering too, and remember to top up ponds and birdbaths as well.

Remember to water containers and new plants. Of course, do use your water buttthe one thing about all the heavy showers, it does top up my water butt very well.

If you collect any seeds, it is a good idea to save them in envelopes, but lay them on your greenhouse or window shelves to dry out first. I was lucky, this year, to find a lovely grass plant with plenty of seeds on, so I will save them for next season.

Roses will benefit from a feed at this time of the year, and also a prune. Your perennials need deadheading too.

If you have grown any Dahlias, it is a good idea to stake them, as with all the rain and wind they soon get top heavy and broken.

We have had a very good crop of herbs, so I shall give them a good trim in the next few days. They can be frozen in ice-cube trays, which is very handy for soups and stews.

Lavender plants do need a trim when they have finished flowering.

If you have grown sweetcorn, water them frequently and feed with tomato feedkeep feeding the tomato plants too.

Carrots and beetroots that were sown in the Spring can be harvested now. Also your early potatoes, which are ideal for salads.

The Cabbage White butterfly will be busy at the moment laying eggs which will soon hatch out and make a meal of the cabbage. The best thing to do is to check under the leaves for them - they are quite easy to spot as they are bright yellow.