August Blog – What to do in the garden

Our Peat-Free Expert, Kate the Garden Guru shares top tips for gardening

August is a wonderful time in the garden—full of colour, buzzing with life, and bursting with produce. But while it might feel like time to sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labour (and you should!), there’s still plenty to be getting on with. From harvesting summer crops to planning ahead for autumn and even next spring, this month is all about balancing enjoyment with a bit of forward-thinking.

Change can happen so quickly in the garden in August, look away and all your dahlias have gone to seed, and your courgettes are giant marrows!  So whether you’re a seasoned gardener or just getting started, here are some key jobs to keep your garden looking great and still growing as the seasons begin to shift.

Here’s what to focus on in your garden this month:

Flowers and Ornamentals

• Cut back spent lavender flowers Once your lavender has finished flowering, give it a light trim to keep it neat and encourage bushy growth next year. Avoid cutting into the woody stems—just snip back the flowered stems and a small amount of soft green growth. You can keep the seedheads and use to perfume sugar for baking or sprinkle the seeds into biscuit dough, just don’t overdo it!
• Plant late-flowering, bee-friendly perennials Fill any gaps in your borders with nectar-rich plants that will keep pollinators happy into early autumn. My favourite choices include and are usually available at most garden centres this time of year:
  • Heleniums
  • Sedums (Hylotelephium)
  • Echinacea
  • Verbena bonariensis. Use a good quality peat-free compost such as Durstons Peat Free Multi-Purpose Compost, when planting. 

Top tip – Don’t just cut the dead flowerhead, cut back to the next set of leaves of flower bed otherwise you’ll end up with a brown stem.

The Veg Garden

Although August is peak harvest time, there’s still plenty to sow, plant, and prepare to keep your kitchen stocked well into autumn—and even winter. Here’s what to do this month:

• Harvest regularly
  • Pick courgettes, beans, and tomatoes often to keep plants productive.
  • Don’t let anything go to seed unless you’re saving it—many crops slow down if left unpicked or use all their energy to turn one or 2 into monsters!
  • Start lifting potatoes and onions once the foliage starts to yellow and die back. Let them dry out in the sunshine before storing.
• Sow now for autumn and winter
  • There’s still time to sow fast-growing salads like rocket, lamb’s lettuce, and mizuna.
  • Some crops like Pak choi, Spinach, Radishes, and beetroot prefer the cooler night temperatures and will last longer.
  • Sow direct into well-watered drills, or start in modules filled with Peat-Free Seed and Cutting Compost and plant out when ready.
• Plant out brassicas and leeks
  • If you remembered to start crops like kale, cabbage, or leeks earlier in the summer, now’s the time to get them into their final spots to get the roots down before winter.
• Refresh tired containers and raised beds
  • After clearing out early crops, top up veg containers with fresh peat-free compost before replanting and mulch any raised beds with a good soil improver, just make sure the soil is moist before adding any new mulch.
• Feed and water consistently
  • Tomatoes, courgettes, peppers, and cucumbers still need regular feeding now—ideally a high-potash feed once a week.
  • Water at the base of plants in the morning to reduce the risk of mildew and other diseases.
  • Blossom End Rot can start to be seen on tomatoes, peppers and aubergines – make sure you water consistently, never drown and drought!
    
• Watch for pests
  • Keep an eye out for cabbage white butterfly eggs on brassicas—squash any you find or cover plants with fine mesh.
  • Slugs and snails are still active in damp weather, so check under leaves and pots

Gardening with kids

With the kids on holiday, get them involved with simple garden jobs and wildlife-spotting—August is a great month for exploring the outdoors together.

• Hunt for mini-beasts in log piles or flower beds. Make a game of spotting butterflies, bees, and beetles.
• Create a DIY bee hotel with hollow canes or drilled wood blocks.
• Sow fast-growing salad seeds in a pot—radishes or mustard leaves will sprout quickly and show little ones where food comes from.
• Harvesting veg is always a fave, especially sweetcorn or podding peas.
• Press flowers or collect seed heads for crafts later in the year.

Wildlife

Your garden can be a lifeline for all sorts of wildlife in late summer. With natural food sources starting to dip and water sometimes in short supply, now’s a great time to give nature a hand.

• Trim hedges carefully
  • Nesting season officially ends in August, so you can now safely trim your hedges.
  • Always check for late nests just in case and keep some areas a little loose and informal—dense shrubs and ivy offer shelter and food for hedgehogs, birds, and insects well into autumn.
• Food and water
  • Keep bird feeders topped up, and clean water bowls or bird baths regularly.
  • Shallow dishes of water with pebbles  can give bees and butterflies a safe place to drink from.
  • Many herbs and veg start to bolt this time of year, so instead of clearing them away leave them to flower and then to set seed , providing nectar for insects and food for birds.
• Leave seed heads and spent flowers.
  • Resist the urge to tidy too much—plants like echinacea, rudbeckia, and sunflowers produce seeds that birds will happily snack on.
  • Hollow stems and fading foliage also provide overwintering sites for insects like ladybirds and solitary bees later in the season.
• Create a mini log or stone pile.
  • A few logs, stacked branches, or even a quiet corner of broken terracotta helps create vital shelter for frogs, beetles, and slow worms.
  • Always choose a sheltered, shady spot where it’ll stay cool and damp.

Top tip – Use peat-free compost when planting, preserving peat bogs is essential for wildlife and carbon storage.

Make A Nectar-Rich Container for Wildlife (Perfect for Small Spaces)

You don’t have to have  a big garden to support pollinators. Just one well-planted pot can become a late-summer feast for bees and butterflies.

• Pick a pot with good drainage
  A medium to large container (30–40cm wide) gives space for more compost, meaning more room for plants to grow.
• Use peat-free compost
  Try a special compost developed for container growing like Durstons Tub and Basket Peat Free Compost.
• Choose easy-to-find, late-summer favourites
  Look for these nectar-rich plants in garden centres now—perfect for planting in August:
  • Sedum (now often labelled Hylotelephium) – great for bees and butterflies and thrives in pots.
  • Rudbeckia – bold, long-flowering, and pollinator-friendly
  • Scabiosa (pincushion flower) – dainty blooms loved by bees
  • Heliopsis – bright, sunflower-like blooms into early autumn
  • Dwarf Verbena rigida – more compact than V. bonariensis but just as loved by pollinators.
  • Trailing Calibrachoa (bee-friendly varieties) – a good nectar source and perfect for softening the edges.
• Care tips
  Water during dry spells, being careful not to over water as peat free compost can sometimes look dry on the surface but is actually still moist underneath. Deadhead spent flowers to keep things blooming, and feed with a liquid plant food every couple of weeks to keep your display going strong.

Top Tip – place a small saucer filled with water and pebbles either in or near your pot as a water source is essential for pollinators in the summer months

Holiday Watering Tips

With many of us heading away for a well- earned holiday, there’s nothing worse than coming home to a wilted garden. Here’s a few tips on keeping your garden hydrated:

• Move pots into the shade to reduce evaporation and keep roots cooler.
• Group containers together—this creates a microclimate and helps them hold on to moisture longer.
• Mulch the tops of containers after giving them a good soak, this helps keeps the moisture in for longer.
• Set up a basic drip irrigation kit or soaker hose, especially for greenhouses or veg beds.
• Ask a neighbour or friend to help—leave clear instructions and return the favour with a jar of homemade jam or a bunch of flowers!

10 minute top ups

• Keep weeding—a little now saves a lot later, especially before weeds go to seed.
• Top up mulch around trees and shrubs to conserve moisture and suppress weeds.
• Clean and sharpen tools—especially secateurs and shears after summer pruning.

Take the time to enjoy!

With all the harvesting, planting, pruning and watering, it’s easy to forget that August is also a time to simply enjoy your garden. Whether it’s your first homegrown tomato, a bee buzzing through a late-summer bloom, or an evening spent outside with friends and family, don’t forget to just sit back and relax.