August should really be a time when you sit back and enjoy the hard work you've done in your garden over the past twelve months. But if you've got itchy green fingers and are aching to plant something then there's plenty you can do outdoors to get your garden ready for winter and spring.
Ideal to sow in August are poppies and cornflowers. Offering a bright burst of colour in the early spring months, these red and blue displays will be some of the first colour you see in the new year. Prep the soil with some feed and rake it gently. Sow the seeds and then water daily until they begin to grow. Delphiniums and Echium, both brilliant blue flowers, can also be sown in August.
For those want to start a veg garden in 2016, you don't need to wait until spring. Chard and Lettuce can both be planted in August. There are specific varieties that will grow for winter, ensuring you'll have your own greens as the months get colder. Spinach is also a great planter in late summer. Sowing from seed, as well as chard, opt for peas, chervil and radish as well as spring onion. They'll give you a great winter harvest and also some good colour; chard is bright red and can give you, and your salad bowl, some good cheer as it gets colder.
Planting new seeds in late summer will give you a little greenery for the winter months and also some early colour in spring as the garden begins to bring itself back to life.
