This Month in the garden

AUGUST GARDENING WELCOMES VIBRANT BLOOMS AND REQUIRES

CAREFUL WATERING THANKS TO THE WARM CLIMATE AND POTENTIAL DROUGHTS

August will I expect, as usual, be dry and sunny. The air is warm, hopefully the hot colours of summer are now filling the borders and we should take time to sit and enjoy the gardens we have made. But for some parts of the garden watering is essential, so now is the time to use the water you collected during the winter and spring. Whilst you are sitting it’s a good time to think about what you want to change for next year. Make notes, take photos, plot and plan for an even better display next summer. But now, in the words of Monty Don, here’s something you can do in your garden this month.

In the Flower Garden

▪ Deadhead flowering plants regularly to prolong the display into autumn.

▪ Divide bearded iris now, so they have time to form roots and flowers buds for next year.

▪ Water camellias and rhododendrons to help the development of next year's flower buds.

▪ Water pots, tubs and hanging baskets daily, sometimes even twice a day.

In the Vegetable Garden

▪ Tomato plants need on-going attention – pick out side shoots; tie in stems for support as the fruit ripens; feed weekly as the fruits ripen; pinch out the top and remove lower leaves to help with air circulation and prevent disease; try planting basil nearby as a companion plant to deter whitefly and greenfly.

▪ Feed peppers, cucumbers, aubergines and chillies with a tomato fertiliser,

▪ Harvest vegetables regularly while they are still young and tasty.

▪ Limit the fruits on a squash plant to about three, but make sure these fruits are established before pinching out the surplus

In the Fruit Garden

▪ Cut down canes of blackberries and summer fruited raspberries and tie in new canes.

▪ Control strawberry runners, rooting some in pots as replacement plants and removing others.

▪ Prune main and side shoots of gooseberries to five leaves and the fruited stems of blackcurrant.

▪ After fruiting, prune damsons, peaches and plums.

By Ronnie Ogier

In the greenhouse

Ronnie is a passionate gardener and now loves sharing her years of experience of success and failures in her own garden and sharing it with you. Also a keen runner, having been bitten by the ‘Couch to 5K’ bug!

▪ Hang sticky traps to catch flying pests.

Lawns

▪ Don't worry if your lawn is looking brown, the autumn rains will soon make it green again.

▪ And finally, ladybirds are an attractive sight in any garden but they are also a natural predator of aphids. So why not build a ‘bug hotel’ and encourage more ‘guests’ to visit

MANDATORY MOTORBIKE CTs

France will soon impose a mandatory requirement for motorbikes and mopeds to undergo the roadworthiness test (Controle technique). The decision came after the country's highest administrative court, the "Conseil d'Etat," determined that it cannot circumvent EU regulations. The government was initially given two months to implement this measure starting from 1 June, but the Transport Minister, Clément Beaune, announced that it will now be enforced from 2024. The application of the tests will be done in phases, beginning with vehicles manufactured before 2017. According to Beaune, the inspection cost will be below 50€.