August is here, so you know what that means, spring is right around the corner. Your garden is about to come to life with new blooms of colour and luscious new growth. This is the perfect month to prepare for the change of season ahead.
What to do in the Rose garden this August
The first thing you will want to do this month if you haven’t already, is prune your roses. The sooner the better. If you really want your roses to thrive and be as healthy as possible then they will need you to help them reach their potential. Prune them back to an outward-facing bud, and don’t get too greedy, cut them right back, the results will be worth it, and your rose will have a much longer lifespan. Any time you prune, fertilise. This will ensure that your roses have lots of beneficial nutrients to draw from when they awaken from dormancy and begin to push out new healthy growth.
What to do in the Flower Garden this August
If you are looking to add some colour to your garden to get you through until the beauty of spring then we recommend planting:
– Alyssum
– Cosmos
– Carnations
– Dianthus
– Marigolds
– Nasturtium
– Petunia
– Phlox
– Snapdragons
– Zinnia
These annuals are a sure-fire way to brighten up any space.
If you have any plants that have overwintered, now is the time to lift and divide them and clean up any older growth. Before replanting, be sure to rejuvenate the soil with organic compost. This will provide your plants with the base nutrients to thrive during the new season ahead. This is the perfect time to liquid-feed all your winter flowering plants. Which will reward you with a final display of lush blooms before spring arrives. Garden beds will be due for a top-up of compost and mulch and a final clean-up will be beneficial to make way for the new growth come spring.
Lime
Lime can be added to most of your garden this month, but more importantly to your vegetable garden. Lime changes the chemistry in your soil to make it less acidic by raising the pH level. While some plants love acidic soils, many prefer alkaline. Getting your pH balance correct based on your individual garden’s needs can be vital to the success of growth and output. Especially if you want your plants to not only grow but to thrive.
Come instore and grab a kit to test your soils pH. This will guide you to see if your garden could benefit from an addition of lime. Dolomite lime is rich in both calcium and magnesium. Garden Lime is rich in calcium and has a much lower magnesium content then dolomite. Be sure to check with one of our friendly team members
to see which would best benefit your garden, if any, based on your garden’s current pH.
Avoid adding lime to acid-loving plants and vegies such as,
Camellias
Azaleas
Daphnes
Rhododendrons
Grapes
Blueberries
Strawberries
Raspberries
Tomatoes
Capsicums
Potatoes
Instead use a fertiliser appropriate for acidic soils.
Lawn Maintenance
August is a great month to prepare your ground for sowing a new lawn come spring. Start by removing any weeds, stones, roots, and any other debris. If you are starting fresh be sure to level the ground and aerate to maximise drainage.
Bindii
It’s time, do it now don’t wait. . .Those aren’t little carrots in your lawn, you know the ones that started appearing about 6 weeks ago, it’s Bindii!
The trick is to spray before the seeds harden. That’s when they will give you and your pets grief. We stock many solutions from 200ml to 20L for every type of grass.
Happy Gardening!
