Tips of the Month – August

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August is the month to sit back and enjoy your garden, while the weather allows. Enjoy your home grown vegetables fresh and preserve any surplus crop for the winter: freeze beans and make tomato sauce, jams, pickles and chutney. 

August is also the perfect time to plan for next year. 

Take notes and label your plants 

Make a note of plant successes and start thinking of your planting plan for next year. You might want to introduce a new colour scheme.  For this add details of the name, colour and height of your plants and keep a note of these on labels or on a note book or even a diagram.

Hardy herbaceous perennials  and summer-flowering bulbs

As they will lose their leaves and die down in autumn and winter, label any that you want to remember. Also make a note of any that have become overcrowded and will needs lifting and dividing in the autumn or to be moved to a better site.

Other jobs for August:

  • Train and summer prune wisteria and rambling roses.
  • Refresh and weed your strawberry patch.
  • Prune raspberries.
  • Tidy up hedges and shade up topiary.
  • Encourage tomatoes to ripen by removing growing tip. 
  • Water regularly in dry spells and make plenty fresh water available for wildlife. 
  • Beat potato blight and limit it spreading by removing and destroying any affected foliage. Eat tubers from blighted crops as soon as possible.
  • Harvest herbs and store them hanging them up to dry in a warm and well ventilated location. 

The Lakehouse and AHS Gardeners update

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Further to the post on 22 April this year, the plot on the corner of Blake Hall Road/ Blake Hall Crescent and Belgrave Road has developed even beyond our wildest expectations.

Redbridge Council issued us with a small bag of wildflower seeds which, after preparing the plot, we scattered.

LBR seed contribution
The plot
The scattering of the seeds

Some of us were a little sceptical regarding how the rain garden/wildflower plot would develop. In order to make the plot look cared for, volunteers planted contributions from their own gardens. One of our volunteers provided signs and we kept a close eye on how the plot was being respected by the public.

The seeds beginning to sprout

Thanks also to the residents adjacent to the site, who were not originally part of the planting team but have offered the use of their water supply when needed.

The wet weather and the stony quality of the soil have proved to be the perfect combination for the wildflowers. Locals who travel past on the 101, W19 and 308 buses, have mentioned how lovely it looks.

Additionally, our gardening team was somewhat concerned during a heavy downpour as to whether the new drainage system, recently installed, would prove adequate. However, it coped well with the deluge of water, as seen in the photos.

The team continue to monitor the site and take pride in how the plot enhances the area. Bees and butterflies have been spotted which contributes to the wellbeing of our environment. The social interaction of not only the volunteer gardening group but others who have commented on the work is very positive in bringing people together.

We will continue to care for the site and look forward to supplying further updates.

Rosemarie Coffey, Lakehouse and AHS Gardeners