August

As we approach the later months of summer it is essential that we are making watering a priority. With hotter and dryer months behind us, we need to try and use water stored through butts and other stores as much as possible, even If these are running low from dryer months. In England this year, we probably won’t find this so much an issue as we have had an extremely wet summer in comparison to what we are used to. August is traditionally holiday time for a lot of families, especially those with smaller children who are on their summer holidays. This means you will need to enlist help from your close friends or family, asking them to look after your garden as well as indoor plants whilst you are away. Pruning summer flowering plants and fruits is vital in August as you won’t want them overgrowing. Deadheading flowers as this time of the year is also recommended and most plants will have another bloom before the summer finishes.

August is also the perfect month to be thinking ahead in terms of plants that need to be moved indoors and kept safe from the colder months. It's good to collect and store seed of hardy annual and perrenials for sowing later in the autumn. Good plants to try include Calendula, Nigella, Cerinthe, Papaver, Aquilegia and hardy Geranium.

September

September is generally a much cooler month than August with winds picking up and earlier sunsets. In regards to flowers and plants, there isn’t too much to do or gain as this time of year, but if you have a fruit of vegetable patch, you’ll be busy with harvest. It is most certainly an ideal time to start planting spring-flowering bulbs for next year, you could also make most of the remaining warmth by collecting seeds for next summers colour.

When it comes to your lawn, this is a great time of year to seed, especially if your lawn has developed bare patches. The soil at this time of year is warm and there should be more rain as we move into the autumn, this will help the seed to germinate and start growing healthily. If you live in an area where birds or pigeons are a big problem in the garden, cover with sticks or a net to stop them from eating the seeds.

Although this seems silly, it is a good time to start planting flowers for Christmas, obviously these will be indoor plants and flowers that grow well in an indoor environment. If you are going to give them as presents, enjoy the process not only of planting up but of choosing the container and the plant to suit, to create the perfectly personalised present. Fragrant hyacinths, hippeastrum and narcissi are easy to grow but you could also try poinsettia and cyclamen and orchids.

October

This is when the autumn chill starts to set in. During September we typically see a combination of warmer days as well as colder ones, however now Autumn is officially here the warmer days do become less frequent and definitely less noticeable. It is a beautiful time of year, especially with the trees turning hues of orange and with the dropping of leaves. This is the time of year when you should start preparing for early frosts.

It is a great month for analysing the summer just gone and realising what worked well in your garden and what didn’t, so that next year you have more of an understanding of where things grow best. From the comfort of your sofa, you could plan out next years garden by making rough sketches of your flower borders and vegetable plots. There’s also lots of things you can order and prepare for next year such as spring-flowering bulbs, trees and shrubs; these all grow incredibly in the spring when they are planted during the autumn. Other fruit plants such as strawberries, raspberries and currant bushes are also best planted during their dormant season.

This is also the month of Halloween, so let’s not forget about the pumpkins and squashes! Before the first frosts it is definitely best to harvest pumpkins, if they are left outside they can turn mushy extremely quickly.

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