10 Autumn Garden Jobs To Do In August Before The Weather Turns

August still looks like summer. The evenings are long and the borders are full; it's easy to think you've got time.

The soil is at its warmest right now, which means roots establish quickly and seeds germinate well, so any planting or dividing you do this month stands a much better chance than the same job done in cold, wet October.

Once the nights start dipping below 10°C consistently, which happens by late September in many parts of the UK and earlier in the north, you've lost that advantage.

These are the jobs worth doing now, in August, before the season turns against you.

1. Plant spring bulbs as soon as they appear in the shops

Garden centres start stocking spring bulbs from late July or early August, and the advice to "plant in autumn" can make it sound like you've got months.

You haven't, really. Tulips are the exception and are best planted in October to reduce the risk of tulip fire disease, but daffodils, alliums, and crocus all benefit from going in sooner. Aim for September at the absolute latest, which means buying in August.

2. Take cuttings from tender perennials before the first frost threatens

Dahlias, penstemons, salvias, and pelargoniums won't survive a hard frost outdoors, and you can propagate them now while they're still actively growing.

Take 10 to 15cm stem cuttings just below a leaf node, remove the lower leaves, and pot them into gritty compost. Keep them somewhere light and frost-free over winter and you'll have new plants for nothing next spring.

3. Order bare-root hedging for autumn delivery

Bare-root hedging plants, things like hawthorn, blackthorn, and field maple, are delivered and planted when dormant, typically from November through to spring.

But nurseries sell out of popular species quickly, and August is when the sensible orders go in. If you've been putting off a hedge project, get your order placed now.

4. Divide overgrown perennials

Clumps of perennials that are getting woody in the middle or flowering less than they used to need dividing, and the end of summer is a good time to do it.

Plants like heleniums, rudbeckias, and echinaceas respond well to being dug up, split with two garden forks or a spade, and replanted with a bit of fresh compost worked into the soil. Do it before the end of August and they'll have weeks of warm soil to settle in.

5. Give the lawn a late-summer feed

An autumn lawn feed applied in late August or early September, while grass is still actively growing, will be used more effectively than one applied later in the season.

Use a specific autumn lawn fertiliser rather than a high-nitrogen spring feed; high nitrogen encourages leafy growth that's more vulnerable to fungal disease going into the wet months.

6. Collect seed from plants you want more of

Seed collecting is free propagation, and August is peak season for it. Let seed heads dry on the plant for as long as possible, then snip them into paper bags, not plastic, label them with the plant name and date, and store them somewhere cool and dry.

Honesty, aquilegia, foxglove, and many annual flowers come true from seed and are worth saving.

7. Clear out finished crops and prep beds for winter veg

If you grow vegetables, August is when beds start to empty as early crops finish. Rather than leaving bare soil exposed to autumn rain, either sow a green manure, phacelia germinates within seven to fourteen days, or plan what winter crops you want in there.

Overwintering onion sets go in from September onwards, and winter salad leaves including lamb's lettuce and mizuna can be direct-sown now for harvests through to December.

8. Prune rambling roses once they've finished flowering

Ramblers flower on the previous year's wood, so you prune them right after flowering, which is usually July or August, not in autumn or spring.

Take out the oldest stems at the base to encourage new growth from the bottom of the plant, shorten side shoots, and tie in the new long stems while they're still flexible. Left until winter, those stems become woody and harder to work with.

9. Check your compost bin and turn it if needed

This is the one job that tends to get ignored all summer. By August, a neglected compost bin can be bone dry on the outside and slimy in the middle, neither of which is composting efficiently.

Turn it, add water if it's dry, and mix in some nitrogen-rich material if it's stalled. Grass clippings or fresh nettles will help it heat back up. Good compost made now will be ready to use as a mulch in spring.

10. Mulch borders before the end of summer

There's a common belief that mulching is an autumn job. It's actually more useful done while the soil is still warm and holds some moisture. A 5 to 7cm layer of well-rotted bark or garden compost spread over bare soil in August helps retain warmth and suppresses late-season weeds. By the time you get to October or November, you're often dealing with wet, cold soil that makes mulching less effective and a lot less pleasant.

A few of these jobs take an hour or less. Some, like ordering bare-root hedging or collecting seed, take about ten minutes.

The jobs that take longer (dividing perennials, turning compost, mulching a full border) are all easier to do now than they will be in two months when the ground is cold and the days are short.

For most of these, August isn't too early; it's exactly the right time.