‘Go now’ cry gardening fans as they race to B&M for ‘lovely’ essential scanning for just £1.50 at tills

1. Watering plants on holiday

Think about how you’re going to water your plants if you’re going away. Irrigation systems are stupidly expensive – so ask a friend or neighbour to pop over. 

2. Remember your houseplants!

For houseplants use the upside down bottle trick – where you fill a wine bottle and then tip it upside down, spout down, and stick it into the pot – the water should seep out slowly. For smaller plants you can use a thick piece of cord running from a glass of water, into the soil – so it slowly takes it up over time. Be sensible with your watering – vistit www.mains2rains.co.uk for some tips on how to conserve water in August. But use as much grey water – ie washing up water – as you can to save such a valuable resource. 

3. Dig for potatoes

Second early potatoes should be ready to dig up. 

4. Carry on deadheading

Use either secateurs or just pinch off the blooms with your finger and thumb. With roses, make sure you’re dead heading back to a set of five leaves, giving you the best chance of more blooms. 

5. Plant strawberries

You can actually plant strawberries in late august – which will be ready next year. For the ones you already have – if they’ve got runners springing off them – try and pot them up to make more strawberries for free. 

6. Prune lavenders

In late August once they’ve finished flowering cut back your lavender – always prune them back to the woody stems – but make sure you can still see some little buds. 

7. Collect seeds

A lot of plants will start going to seed now – so it’s the perfect time to walk around collecting them to get free plants for next year – just make sure you label the envelopes. 

8. Sow hardy annuals

Towards the end of the month, sow hardy annuals in order for them to flower next year. Try and choose sheltered spots for them.

9. Cut back roses

Prune back rambling roses and make sure they are all tied in. And in late August give your roses their last feed. 

10. Keep on top of watering hanging baskets

It’s really important to keep hanging baskets hydrated – they are the first and the worst for drying out.