As August approaches, gardeners are advised to adapt their practices to manage summer heatwaves and support wildlife. Experts recommend adjustments to lawn care, watering strategies, and plant maintenance to ensure gardens thrive during the dry season.
Lawn Care in Heat
Simon Parry, an outdoor living expert, suggests raising mower blades to a higher setting when cutting lawns. This allows the grass to grow slightly longer, which helps protect the roots from intense heat. He also advises leaving short clippings on the lawn to act as mulch. Browning grass during hot weather is normal and can be expected to recover with autumn rains, as established grass is resilient and may enter dormancy as a self-protection mechanism. For established lawns, deep watering after prolonged dry spells is recommended over frequent light watering. Parry also cautions against fertilizing lawns in August, as it can encourage new growth vulnerable to pests and diseases.
Attracting Beneficial Wildlife
Tessa Cobley, a plant pest expert, highlights the importance of ladybugs as natural pest controllers, particularly against aphids. To encourage ladybugs, she suggests leaving a small number of aphids on less critical plants to ensure a food source. Creating a safe environment with access to food and shelter will help ladybugs settle in a garden. James Ewens from Green Feathers emphasizes creating a welcoming environment for all wildlife, including birds and pollinators. This can involve setting up shallow bowls of fresh water with stones for insects to land on, often referred to as 'pollinator pitstops.' These should be placed near nectar-rich plants like lavender or echinacea. Keeping the water clean and replenished is crucial.
Ladybugs are also attracted to certain plants. Cobley notes that flat-topped, umbrella-shaped flowers and herbs such as dill, fennel, coriander, yarrow, angelica, and sweet alyssum are beneficial. Bright yellow and orange flowers like marigolds and calendula are also appealing.
Supporting Birds and Watering Wisely
Supplementary feeding for birds is still necessary in August, especially as they continue feeding young throughout the longer daylight hours. Ewens stresses the importance of hygiene, recommending regular cleaning of feeders and replenishing water. He advises against foods that spoil quickly in heat and suggests using hanging feeders with nutrient-rich foods like sunflower hearts and mealworms.
Effective watering is crucial. Watering in the early morning or evening, when temperatures are milder, is recommended to reduce evaporation. Deep watering a few times a week is more beneficial for encouraging stronger root systems than frequent shallow watering. For fruits and vegetables, regular watering is necessary due to faster evaporation rates in hot weather. Compost heaps also benefit from watering to continue the composting process. Hanging baskets and younger plants require more frequent watering, with a general rule of thumb being to check if the top inch of soil is dry.
Plant Maintenance and Harvesting
Deadheading flowers, a task carried over from July, promotes new growth by preventing plants from expending energy on seed production. This practice can encourage annual bedding plants and perennials to bloom into autumn. Removing faded blooms also neatens plants and makes way for new flowers. However, gardeners should be mindful not to deadhead plants that provide seeds attractive to birds, such as sunflowers, to encourage wildlife visits.
August is also a prime month for harvesting fruits and vegetables like tomatoes, artichokes, cucumbers, potatoes, and plums. Harvesting ripe produce prevents overripening or molding and can deter pests like rats and mice, while also making way for new growth.