There is plenty going on in gardens during the month of August, plants need pruning and fruit and vegetables need picking.

In his blog post from 2023, Monty Don has recommended a variety of jobs get done throughout the month.

1. Move perennials 

The expert wrote: “August is a good month for moving herbaceous perennials. By doing this when they are in full flower you can see clearly how they look in their new position and how they relate to the other planting around them.

“It also means that the roots will continue to grow and become established by winter so that next spring they will grow with extra vigour.”

Once moved, it’s a good idea to cut them back so that the plant has a rest and can recover from being moved.

2. Pruning lavender

To avoid “woody, leggy plants”, lavender should be pruned every year as soon as the flowers fade.

Depending on the variety, this can be between mid-summer and the end of August but do not wait to prune this plant.

Monty said: “Cut back hard to a good compact shape but be sure to leave some new shoots on each stem, lavender will often not regrow from bare wood.

“These new shoots will grow fast and provide an attractive and healthy cover to protect the plant in winter and provide the basis of next year’s display.”

If you wait until the flowers turn brown before pruning, they may not regrow before winter.

3. Make new strawberry plants

Monty explained: “After the early strawberries finish fruiting, usually the middle of July, they put their energy into producing new plants via runners.

“By pinning them to the soil or onto a pot with compost in it and then separating it from the mother plant these can be harvested as new plants that will have more vigour.”

According to the gardening expert, doing this will help to keep your stock replenished and refreshed.

He added: “By the end of the month the rooted plantlets are ready for planting out into a new bed that has had a generous amount of compost added to it as strawberries are greedy feeders.”

Space these around 12 inches apart and ideally twice that to allow for maximum growth and productivity, keeping them well watered.

4. Tomatoes

Tomatoes are coming up to their prime harvesting period but to extend this, gardeners should strip off the bottom half of the leaves on each plant.

This will not only let the light in to give the fruits more sun but also provide extra ventilation to reduce the risk of disease.

This process should be continued weekly until there are no leaves left, according to Monty.

He added: “Reduce the watering unless it is very hot to avoid the fruit splitting but keep up a weekly feed of liquid seaweed or, if you can make it, homemade comfrey feed.”

Both are ideal for “maximising flower and fruit production”, but make sure to follow packet instructions.