August has ended on a warm sunny note better than some previous Augusts but with quite a lot of cloudy humid weather as well. September weather looks promising & the forecast suggests that we have several warm sunny days ahead. Now that the holiday season is over it is time to get back in the garden & plan for the autumn.
Below are a few tips of a practical nature if you feel like undertaking some gardening jobs that will not involve too much effort.
Extend the summer by making the most of garden lighting for the darker evenings. There is a wide range of solar lighting available as well as low voltage mains lighting. Trees shrubs grasses and pathways can all be highlighted .Bear in mind that bats owls and moths can be disorientated by artificial lighting so solar is probably best as well as being more ecofriendly. A moderate amount of garden lighting cheers people up especially when heading towards autumn
Collect seeds for next year's planting. There is a lot of satisfaction to be gained from planting one's own seeds and seeing them grow .Now is ideal for taking cuttings from perennials larger shrubs and house plants. To save time planting winter veg seeds (now probably too late anyway) buy some ready grown plug plants by mail order or at the garden centre - broccoli calabrese & perpetual spinach for example. Your tomato crop if planted in the greenhouse will last into November so long as good natural light is available. Feeding & watering is also necessary.
This year there will more dry leaves & other garden debris than usual for easy composting.
Continue to feed and dead-head container and hanging basket plants. Now is a good time for dividing perennials. Prune any late flowering shrubs. Keep harvesting crops. Cut bean and pea plants to ground level once they have finished cropping. Leave the roots which will slowly release nitrogen back into the soil as they break down. Pick any ripe apples which should come away easy when they are ready. Cover ponds with netting ready to catch falling leaves.
Lawncare - Not the usual recommendations this year but just the advice to do nothing until we have had some decent amounts of rain when the lawns should recover fairly quickly.
Finally get the camera out and take some nice photos of various parts of your garden in the late afternoon/early evening sunshine for best effect. As well as being a pleasant reminder of your efforts over the summer these photos will serve as a record to compare with photos taken this time next year.
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