As we start to see the change in seasons, the August Bank Holiday weekend is the perfect opportunity to start preparing your garden for the seasons ahead. We've put together a little list of garden jobs which you can make a start on this weekend:
- If the weather is dry now is a good time to start collecting ripened seeds from plants and vegetables around your garden, including sweet peas, nigella, delphiniums and hollyhocks. These will be perfect to sow to grow new plants for next year.
- Deadhead perennials, including dahlias, to encourage fresh flowers and a constant display of blooms. Dahlias are great for cut flowers so you can cut these earlier and enjoy the flowers inside too. You may want to leave some perennials until there seeds have ripened if you wish to collect them.
- Now is the perfect time to sow your hardy annual seeds ready for bursts of colour in early summer next year.
- If your lavender has finished flowering now is the perfect time to trim it. This will help it to maintain a compact and bushy shape for the next flowering season. Make sure you avoid trimming into any old wood.
- Prune and re-tie rambling roses.
- If you have an area with wildflowers they will have finished flowering now and scattered their seeds so strim or cut the area to keep it neat and tidy and to get rid of old plants.
- If the weather is dry now is the perfect time to start protecting any wood and metalwork work in the garden for the autumn and winter ahead. Sand down if required and protect with recommended treatment.
- Plant autumn bulbs ready for spring flowering. We've a great selection of spring bulbs now in stock here at Deepdale Garden Centre. Including tulips, alliums, anemones and daffodils.
- It's time to summer prune any wisteria by trimming the side shoots to 20cm.
- Provide fresh water and feed for birds. We sell a great variety of bird feed, including seed and fat balls.
- Keep an eye out for pests, in particular slugs and snails. They love the cooler weather and damper conditions so you will start seeing a few more in the garden. Take frequent looks around your garden removing any snails you may come across. You can also set various deterrents including beer traps or by using a slug repellent pellets.
- Prune hedges before they stop growing in the autumn. It's often best to use secateurs or sheers to avoid leaving behind half cut leaves which will turn brown.
We hope you find this list helpful to prepare your garden for Autumn and Winter.
Deepdale Garden Centre is open this Bank Holiday Weekend and we look forward to seeing you!
