Tips for Your Eco Garden in August – This is usually one of the hottest months of the year, so watering is essential to keep the garden at its best.
Try to use recycled water wherever possible, especially as water butts may be running low by this stage of the summer. Recent downpours may have topped them up, however, other options include collecting your own rainwater or recycling water – left after a bath for instance or in the washing up bowl – makes environmental and financial sense, particularly if you are being metered. Combine this with a capillary watering system, which supplies water from a reservoir automatically, without the need for pumping and your watering becomes about as eco-friendly as you can get.
August is traditionally holiday time, so you might need to enlist the help of neighbours, friends, and family to look after the garden while you are away if you don’t want to return to withered plants and a brown lawn, as even occasional watering will help.
If you do require additional help with watering from a hosepipe, we have been experimenting with the Flopro hose. Therefore, it seemed only natural to team this up with the Flopro Professional Metal Hose Reel .
Having done hours of research for the best product for my garden requirements the Flopro came up tops. Freestanding or wall mounted it is stylish with an attractive contemporary design.
Made from high-quality, durable, stainless steel and aluminium, this hose reel is resistant to rust and can hold up to 40m of 13mm (1.2″) width hose. The anti-leak metal hose connectors have been designed to improve durability, and its snap-fit connection allows it to be 100% compatible with all watering brands.
For that extra peace of mind, the Flopro Professional Metal Hose Reel also comes with a 5-year guarantee.
Things to do…
Flowers – Deadhead your plants regularly to encourage more flower buds to form and open, not forgetting your tubs and hanging baskets. Deadheading, watering, and feeding will help them last through until autumn.
We have discovered the exclusive True Fertilisers from the Lawn Association, ideal for feeding lawns, roses, and flowers. ‘True Range’ RRP £16.99 is a specifically designed fertiliser and soil conditioner range for domestic use. The products are formulated using food waste. This will not only keep your plants happy and healthy but also your soils. The composted food waste is naturally rich in amino, humic and fulvic acids as well as being high in mycorrhiza and will aid the; plant’s growth, root development and overall function whilst also providing a food source for the beneficial microbes within your soils.
Each product has a specific fertiliser analysis to support the area of your garden you wish to use it on;
• True Grass for your lawns
• True Bloom for flower beds, pots and hanging baskets
• True Yield for the vegetable plots.
Having tried all three products in the range, we are certainly hooked at Women Talking
I would suggest you prune climbing and rambling roses that do not repeat flowers or produce attractive hips once the flowers have finished this saves an extra job later in the year.
Keep in the eco spirit by collecting and storing seeds from hardy annuals and perennials for sowing later in the autumn. Good plants to try including Calendula, Nigella, Cerinthe, Papaver, Aquilegia and hardy Geranium.
I would suggest you prune climbing and rambling roses that do not repeat flower or produce attractive hips, once the flowers have finished this saves an extra job later in the year.
Keep in the eco spirit by collecting and storing seeds from hardy annuals and perennials for sowing later in the autumn. Good plants to try include Calendula, Nigella, Cerinthe, Papaver, Aquilegia and hardy Geranium.
Trees and shrubs – Give hedges a final trim now. They will only grow a little before cold weather stops growth.
Greenhouse – Perhaps one of the most direct ways to reduce your own carbon footprint is to invest in a greenhouse. Producing even a small amount of your own food under glass allows you to reduce the food miles of much of the exotic or out-of-season produce otherwise only available in supermarkets. Flying fruit and vegetables into the country from different parts of the world causes carbon emissions and then transporting them along the road network simply makes the problem worse.
A greenhouse is a great addition for any enthusiastic gardener. They not only allow us to grow a wider variety of our own products but give tender plants a much better start. Propagating your own in the greenhouse, from seeds or cuttings, not only gets around the environmental problem of fossil fuel use but could also save you a small fortune.
As successive droughts and hosepipe bans have shown, despite Britain’s decidedly wet climate, there are times when, for one reason or another, there simply is not enough water to go around. A lot of the water used in the greenhouse can be successfully recycled. It is possible to reduce the demand for treated mains water by the simple expedient of the humble rain-butt. A little guttering can soon be set up to collect the rain falling on the greenhouse roof and if the butt is positioned high enough, it should be possible to let gravity move the water to where it is needed.
Birds and Wildlife – Keep feeding the BIRDS! They need your food and water. Make sure that the birdbath is always full of clean water.
Lawns – Raise the blades on the mower before cutting fine lawns. This will help reduce drought stress.
Browning of the lawn is very common at this time of year. Don’t water the grass unless absolutely necessary. It will green up when the autumn rains arrive.
Encourage a weed-free garden by applying mulch, e.g lawn clippings. Do this especially if you don’t want to pay for the council to collect your green waste bin!
Sharpen up your lawn edges with Straightcurve® a unique steel garden edging system designed to achieve a quality, lasting finish and can be installed quicker and easier than any other metal landscaping edge.
Edging has been known to be tricky to assemble and install yourself in the past, but Straightcurve is different. Everything you need, the edging lengths and components such as fixed spikes and joints, are delivered together, and they are easy to assemble and even easier to install allowing you to be creative in the garden.
The weathering steel used, produces a stunningly rich, deep amber colour, which is both contemporary and rustic as the special steel rusts slowly and develops a patina on the surface that inhibits further rusting. Over time the result is a beautiful darkening of the patina hue, resulting in rich earthy tones.
Ponds – Top up water where necessary in ponds and water features. Aerate the water in hot sticky weather by leaving fountains on overnight.
Structures – Take advantage of the dry weather by painting fences, sheds and other wooden features with a preservative.
Lilly Light