And then there is August....

I've heard that the test of a good gardener is to have a garden full of colour in August because there is a natural lull between the end of the summer show and the onset of the autumn bloomers.  August is the month that usually has the least rainfall so many plants avoid flowering during this period - though currently our garden is enjoying a period of heavy downpours!

Although we try to balance the planting at Springfield, it is a challenge to achieve the full on pizzazz of spring and early summer.  You have to look a little harder to find colour and interest at this time of year and if it wasn’t for the energy and abundance in the vegetable and fruit garden, seeing the Foxgloves droop, the dancing Osteospermums fade and the rose petals fall,  I could feel dispirited.

We tend to have a tidy up in August and this can lift us.  Hedge cutting begins in earnest and I have several sessions deadheading the roses to encourage a late flush of flowers.  Hardy Geraniums benefit from a good hair cut and will often come into flower again later in the year.  We also prune back the cordon apple trees, shrubs and those perennials which have finished flowering.  If you don’t cut back Alchemilla (Lady’s Mantle) it seeds everywhere and will take over the garden the following year.

Growing bedding plants in containers and baskets can keep the colour going but we have a large garden as it is, without adding to the surface area and there is enough watering to do in the vegetable garden.  We do have two lovely hardy Fuchsias outside the front door though and they flower all summer and into the autumn.  I rate them as ‘Good Doers’ for any garden.  They have the bonus of being happy in shade and I over-winter them in the greenhouse ready to flower again the following season.

The Viticella group of clematis flower at this time of year and we have Etoile Violette which has small purple flowers to perk up a trellis. It is growing through a young Wisteria which because it is young, is all leaves and no excitement.  The combination always finishes up as a tangle at the end of the season but it’s worth it.

Salvias and Penstemons flower in August but can get lost in a large garden so we love the Buddleia which we let rip.  It has huge arching stems and long purple flowers which compliment the silvery leaves.  The Crocosmias enter the stage in August too, as do the cheerful Heleniums,  Asters and Sedums. 

So we do have August colour but it is rather restrained and the plants are dotted all over the place.  I think we need larger borders at Springfield so we can plant large swathes of the later flowering perennials and perhaps give some space over to some more large shrubs to continue the interest.  Gardens never stand still.  I will add my idea to the list!