When deciding which flowers to plant in August, you have a little more leeway than in July as we move toward the cooler, wetter days of fall. However, the ground may still be dry after the hot summer and your beds and borders are probably still full of plants. This means you are spoiled for choice as hardy annuals, biennials and perennials can now be sown in trays. However, you should not sow semi-hardy annual plants until April or early May next year, when temperatures rise again. Follow these tips,what flowersYou should plant in August and you will have a lush garden.
Top Plants to Grow in Late Summer – Lupins
Lupins are a staple in the cottage garden, reliable bloomers with dense flower towers in pink, purple, blue, red, yellow and cream. They usually decorate the middle and back of the beds, but you can also buy dwarf varieties like “Pixie Delight,” which add color to the front of the beds and do well in containers (just watch out for aphids). Lupins are hardy annual plants and belong to the pea family. They develop long taproots and a strong root system. Therefore, sow them directly into the ground where they can root deeply and establish themselves well.
They like a sunny spot and fertile soil. Therefore, add plenty of well-rotted compost or manure before sowing. Keep the soil well watered while the seeds germinate and thin out the seedlings at close intervals.
Top-Tipp: If you don't have space for sowing outdoors or your soil is still too hard and dry, sow your lupins in deep pots and modules. Care for them in the greenhouse over the winter and plant them out next spring when the ground warms.
Silverleaf grows best in alkaline soil
Silverleaf (Lunaria annua) is one of the most recognizable plants. The vigorous, biennial plant from the cabbage family produces large flower clusters that come from pretty, delicate, flattened seed capsules. The flowers are usually pink or white, although some varieties form a mixture of both. Because silverleaf is a biennial plant, it produces its first leaves this year and continues to grow and flower next spring before going to seed and dying. Silverleaf thrives best in alkaline soils and likes to self-seed. This creates colorful clumps in summer and an interesting plant in winter if you leave the seed pods standing.
Top-Tipp: If you decide to sow Honesty seeds in modules, plant them out before they get too big. Like all brassicas, they develop a strong taproot and will not do as well if the roots do not have enough space to develop properly.
Which vegetables to sow in August? Theyou can read here!
Nigella blooms for a long time & is easy to grow
Nigella, also known as love in the mist, is a traditional garden plant that comes in a variety of colors, from light blue to midnight indigo to deep maroon. It is a hardy annual flower that is easy to grow, blooms for a long time, and has attractive seed heads suitable for indoor arrangements. You can sow them now or wait until spring, although fall-sown plants tend to flower earlier and better. So if you're wondering what you're inPlant in Augustthese plants are a good choice.
Scatter the seeds thinly in fertile, well-drained soil in a sunny location, then cover with more soil. Water the seeds using a watering can with a fine rose attached and mark the area so you don't disturb the seeds while gardening. Once the seeds germinate and are large enough to work with, thin them out and protect them from pests. Keep the soil moist and they will put on a great show from May through early fall next year.
Top-Tipp: Nigella is so easy to care for that she is called 'sow and forget'. It happily sows itself and produces pretty clusters of flowers in the garden. The seeds are large and easy to collect, so you can also sow them wherever you want.
What flowers to plant in August – Dahlias
“Bishop's Children” dahlias are a showy variety in shades from deep pink to burnt orange over striking dark foliage. Delicious dahlias are one of the most diverse and longest-blooming perennials, guaranteeing you color and interesting foliage from mid-summer well into fall. And August is a good time to plant them out. All dahlia species are known for their glossy petals in a variety of dazzling colors, as well as their wide variety of shapes and styles, from small pompoms to plate-sized blooms.
An added bonus is that dahlias will do just as well in your container garden as they do in the ground, as long as they are well cared for and watered. Growing your plants in containers makes it easier to move them to a greenhouse or porch in the winter when the top growth dies back and the tubers need to be stored in a tray of compost in a frost-free location.
Crocosmia (Montbretia) is a late summer plant with fiery flowers
Native to South Africa, Crocosmia, also called Montbretia, produces its shiny, drooping flower clusters above tall, elegant, strap-shaped leaves that take up very little space, allowing you to plant many complementary things around them. They can become invasive as they mature and the tubers from which they grow multiply. Solve this problem by digging them up and dividing the tubers. Keep the young, firm tubers and discard the old or soft, mushy tubers that feel.
Top-Tipp: Because they are native to the southern hemisphere, crocosmia are not reliably hardy in northern and exposed gardens. Therefore, in late autumn, when their leaves have died, they need to be mulched with a generous layer of well-rotted compost or manure.
What else can you plant in August – vegetables, flowers and balcony plants? Thefind out here!
