Alan Titchmarsh gave his top gardening tips for August (Image: Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Killik & Co)
It has been a punishing summer so far for Britain’s gardeners. They have been fighting back to back heatwaves for more than two months, consistent temperatures over 30C, hosepipe bans, drought and rock-hard soil.
According to Alan Titchmarsh, though, all is not lost – and there are a number of tasks to carry out in August to get you back on track.
Far from being a quiet month, August is seen as a pivotal “bridge” month to set your garden up for the autumn, winter and the following spring.
Former Gardeners’ World presenter Alan knows that more than most, and he has five tasks that British gardeners should get cracking with this month.
Now could be the time to prune your climbing roses (stock) (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)Train and prune climbers
First up is making sure you train and prune your climbers. According to Alan most of them will have finished growing while many of them will have finished climbing by now.
Now he thinks is the time to start containing them and making them travel where you want them to go.
He told his YouTube channel, Gardening with Alan Titchmarsh: “One climber many are confused about is wisteria. July and August is one of two times in the year where you want to prune it, to encourage it to stay within bounds and to flower well next year.
“Look for the long shoots and shorten them back to a foot from where they come out of the stem. Then shorten them in January to about finger length. “With any luck they’ll start flowering again next spring.”
He also recommended climbing roses as another candidate for pruning in August.
August is an excellent month to plant hedges (stock) (Image: Getty Images)Plant evergreen hedges
Next on the agenda is planting evergreen hedges. Whether it is for privacy or to combat noise pollution, the expert thinks now is a great time to get planting those hedges.
Evergreen hedges are a type of plant that are perfect to plant this month – provided gardeners don’t let them dry out.
He said: “The soil is warm, and provided you don’t let it dry out, root growth will be quite rapid in setting up the plants for the winter ahead, so in the spring, they’ll grow away rapidly.
“If it’s privacy you’re looking for, evergreen hedges are the best option because they won’t lose their leaves in winter. Another good reason is to combat noise pollution.”
Alan suggested Euonymus or the Portuguese Laurel if you’re looking for privacy or the Yew if you’re looking to beat noise pollution.
August is a great month to add to your compost heap (stock) (Image: Getty Images)Start making compost
Another very important job to start doing this month is making a compost. As Alan rightly asserts, August is a time when lots of garden is being cut back.
This includes the lawn (depending on how parched it is), the hedges or pulling up weeds. Lots of this material is being shoved on the compost heap, which, thanks to the sweltering summer temperatures, rots much more quickly than it does in winter.
Alan says: “Summer is a great time to get cracking on your compost. If you’ve never built a compost heap, or you have a really tiny garden, a great place to start is with a compost bin made from pressure-treated soft wood.
“You can buy them in kits and they’re relatively easy to put together. If you get one where the boards slot in and out, it’s easy to access the compost when it’s ready to be used.
“Then you’re ready to start creating the compost. I always begin with waste from the garden, leaves, particularly soft leaves, are a good addition, and grass clippings can go in, but mix all the ingredients together to get your heat to heat up fast.”
The experienced gardener also recommended adding other materials to the compost like crushed eggshells, coffee ground, potato and carrot peelings, banana skins, lettuces and broccoli.
Then once all the ingredients are ready, put them into the bin and mix them up so it rota down faster, adding water to accelerate the process.
Alan urged gardeners to be kind to themselves (Image: Getty)Be kind to yourself
This is an especially important point if your garden is struggling due to the constant hot weather.
Alan said while it is easy to be “down and dispirited” as gardens burn up due to incessant sunshine and very little water, the rains will return.
Alan concluded: “There will be parts of your garden which will survive. Even your lawn which seems to have been burnt to a crisp, it’ll come back.
So, be patient. It will come back and you’ll realise that even in tough times like those we’ve had this particular month, it’s still worth being a gardener.
Planting ornamental grasses
According to Alan, adding grasses to your garden keeps the interest going right into winter.
He said: “Lots of them will go through the winter in the state they are dried but looking wonderful particularly when they’re frosted.
“For me they’re great glue in borders between contrasting flower colours.”
Catch Alan on Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh this morning (Sunday, August 9) from 9.30am to 11.25am on ITV.
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