t’s been a scorching summer and hopefully you’ve all been enjoying the garden and keeping it in shape, despite the challenging conditions.

Well, now we’ve had a little bit of rain and the plants will be revived.

But while August isn’t a traditionally hectic time in the garden, maintenance wise, there are certainly jobs that you can do to make sure it stays looking at its best through to Autumn.Potted plants will thank you for a bit of TLC: refreshing the top soil and maybe a little bit of feed next time you water them. Hanging baskets too, will last a little longer if you dead head any flowers that are dying back. Also, cut away brown and dried out stems so water can get to the healthy roots.

Dead heading other flowering shrubs, like roses, will make sure that vital nutrients are reaching the young shoots and future buds will flower next year.

Lawns are bouncing back after being sun baked. Preserve moisture by cutting more frequently but not too short. Leave the grass trimmings on the lawn to help water retention.

And now’s the time to think about sowing your hardy annuals into borders if you want to see some colour next Spring and Summer.

A little bit of work now will extend the life and colour in your garden and you’ll see the benefits next year too!