Monty’s month
August can be the hottest month of the
year and although the nights are starting to be cooler, the days – while noticeably shorter – can be sweltering, with many gardens showing the strain of drought.
But this is certainly not the case at Longmeadow, where the Jewel Garden in particular hits its peak display. This is dependent on our extensive use of tropical plants such as sunflowers, zinnias, tithonia, cannas, gingers, bananas and dahlias, and while all grow strongly in our rich soil, those in pots do need regular watering and feeding to sustain the extravagance of their late-summer display.
I feed all our containers weekly
(on Feeding Friday) with liquid seaweed or homemade comfrey feed. Both are high in potash, which encourages flower formation and helps keep the display going strongly right into autumn.