King Charles’ gardener Jack Stooks reveals must-do August jobs to prepare your garden for Autumn

Now late summer is officially here, August is the perfect time to kickstart prepping your garden for Autumn, according to King Charles’ senior gardener, Jack Stooks.

The gardening expert - who has worked in the Royal gardens at Highgrove for more than 20 years - has revealed in an interview with AltIndex his top tips when it comes to planting vegetables, maintaining your garden and what to do this month to ensure maximum healthy growth in the last stretch of summer.

Sharing his monthly checklist with industry data platform AltIndex, he says that now is the time to be deadheading, cutting back and feeding your plants as well as looking out for seeds you can collect.

As well as sharing his advice on plants, Jack also touches on the vegetables you should plant to ensure great results as well as the fruits you should be keeping an eye on.

He adds that August is the ‘time to experiment’ with your garden - revealing ways you can ‘enjoy your garden’ for a bit longer before the shorter evenings make their return.

Speaking exclusively to AltIndex, senior royal gardener Jack Stooks reveals:

Flowers and plants

“You need to be doing all the deadheading you can at this time of year. You want to continue doing that as much as you can. You should also start looking at what you can collect for seed. It will be good to cut back on any geraniums. In August, you will begin to see some of them finishing flowering - but if you cut them back, they will resprout and have another lease of life. Alchemillas are similar - they are a good plant to cut back. You’ll see them flourish quickly. This month is also the time for more watering, so make sure you’re watering as much as you think is necessary.”

Maintaining your garden

1. Keep weeding: “You should also keep weeding. It shouldn’t be as problematic now, but you might find the odd ones that have crept up without noticing.”
2. Mow your lawn: “Keep mowing your grass. At the moment, your lawn should be growing well, so keep mowing. If your grass is too dry, you can raise the height of your cut, and once it’s a bit wetter, you can lower the height again. Keep thinking about feeding your lawn and edging the corners as well.”
3. Get ahead! “A good thing to do now is to go to your local garden centre and find the Spring bulb catalogues. It’s a good time to get ahead and to start thinking about your bulbs for next year - at least before Christmas.”

Fruits and vegetables

What to plant:

“Now, you can plant lettuce, spinach, and rocket for late Autumn. If you plant those now, you’ll get them in late October. It’s a good time to get that last burst of greenery for your garden. You should also plant leeks and cabbage if you haven’t already.”

Keep an eye on your fruit trees:

“You’ll need to keep an eye on all your fruit trees. Apple trees are the key one here, as you’ll see your early variety apples becoming ripe this month. You’ll need to keep an eye on what’s ripe, what’s looking good, what you can eat, and what you can harvest. Start thinking about what you’ll make with any of the fruit you’ve grown in your garden. You might want to make some apple chutney, for example - so make sure you’ve got your jars and everything to make it. This will give you the motivation to be prepared to get started, instead of inevitably ending up wasting the produce.

“It’s important to keep your fruit trees as healthy as you can, so they can continue to reflower and provide some great fruit. It’s also a good season for mulberries. Go out a few nights a week and pick a few. A good way to preserve mulberries is to freeze them and use them later. You could make a nice jam, which also makes a nice present.”

House plants

“August is the time of year when you want to enjoy your garden as much as possible - but there are ways of enjoying it inside, too. A good way to do this is to cut some of your flowers in your garden and bring them inside. Just give it a go - August is the time to experiment with everything you’ve grown. Having a colourful posy on your desk might be the nice touch you’ve been looking for.”

“August is a good month to repot houseplants as they are still performing well. Potting them will help with their growth and flowering. If potting a plant, firstly check if it needs a larger pot. New compost can be added as well as plant feed. As the plant is still active, the roots will find the nutrients in the new compost and will be in good health for the winter months. Repotting can be done until early Autumn, but it is better to be done now in the warmer weather - so the plant can fully rejuvenate itself. Houseplants in this heat do struggle and can wilt very easily. If you have plants that can’t cope, try to find a cool or shady spot in your house. Alternatively, you can buy plants that are accepting of this weather, such as euphorbias or cacti.”