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You have listed your house on the market and are waiting for house buyers to contact you. Your garden could become a great selling point. In August a garden is still at its best and when regularly maintained your potential buyer will certainly notice it. 

 

There are some main jobs which have to be done regularly and some which you can do at your leisure time. Take a look at the tips we prepared to help you keep on track with your garden chores late summer and early autumn – credit Thompson & Morgan garden experts.

 

  • Prune all summer flowering shrubs once the blooms are finished. It will give your garden a tidy look which is extremely appealing for house buyers.
  • When there is no rain, water your potted plants daily and feed with a liquid fertiliser every fortnight. They will look fresh and you will be able to enjoy them flowering for longer. Keep on top of weeds as they will compete with your plants for nutrients and water.
  • So many people choose artificial lawn, but can it really compete with real grass? It is a home for wild life, feels great on your feet and smells so nice when being cut – artificial grass can be a turnoff for a potential buyer.
  • In summer when we lack rain your lawn can become a bit dry. Do not worry if it looks yellow – soon we will be facing a period of autumn rains and your lawn will look green again.
  • Garden experts do not recommend feeding your lawn with a high-nitrogen fertiliser at the end of summer or beginning of autumn. This encourages plants to produce new growth that can be easily damaged by autumn weather.
  • If your lawn is infested by bugs, brush out their nests on a dry day. Always brush them away before mowing.
  • It does not take much to maintain your lawn and your efforts will be paid off as it can make your house sell quicker!
  • A bit of attention should be given to evergreen shrubs at the end of summer. They should be thoroughly watered this month to make sure that next year’s buds develop well.

 

Have you got plants which are still flowering? This is perfect – the homes on the market with a flowering garden stand out! To keep them flowering for longer and to prepare for autumn, there are some easy steps to be taken in August or September.

  • Cut back faded perennials to keep your garden tidy.
  • Dead-head annual bedding plants and perennials to encourage them to flower into the autumn and stop them self-seeding. Stake tall or top-heavy dahlias and lilies to prevent wind and rain damage. Dead-head lilies for a better flower display next year.
  • Trim any lavender plants after they have finished flowering to keep them compact.
  • Wisteria is one of the favourite climbers in the UK. Houses with wisteria making its way along the walls get special attention from house buyers. Prune wisteria after flowering by removing all the whippy side-shoots from the main branch framework to about 20cm from their base.
  • Cut back herbs now to encourage a new flush of tasty leaves you can harvest before the frost. Collect ripened seeds and store them for next year. You may want to leave some seed heads in place – it is attractive and allows the plant to self-seed in the surrounding soil.

 

You may want to take some of your favourite plants to your new home. It is the right time to do that. Take cuttings of your favourite tender perennials to propagate them for next year.

 

Vegetable gardens have become more and more popular. Not only you have benefits of having your lovely fresh delicious veggies, they give your garden a unique appearance which changes when vegetables flower and then when they produce fruits. The vegetable garden comes into its own in August, with plenty of delicious home grown produce to harvest. Here are some tasks to keep you busy this month.

  • Apply a high-potash fertiliser such as tomato food once fruits start to form on peppers, cucumber and aubergine plants. Sweetcorn plants will also benefit from regularly feed and also watering.
  • Continue to feed tomato plants with tomato food and remove lower leaves to help with air circulation and prevent disease. Pinch out the top of tomato plants to concentrate the growth into the fruit that has already formed.
  • Pinch out the tips of your runner bean plants once they reach the top of their support. This encourages side-shooting and more beans at a manageable height for picking.
  • Limit the fruits on a squash plant to about three, but make sure these fruits are well established before pinching out the surplus.

It is time to harvest! You will be able to take some root vegetables to your new home and, if kept correctly, can last till next year.

  • Spring-sown carrots and beetroot will be ready to harvest now although they can be left in the ground to keep growing.
  • Start harvesting your main crop potatoes as the leaves yellow and die back. Store your potatoes in hessian sacks which exclude light but allow ventilation. Second early potatoes are ready now — perfect for salads!
  • Lift and dry onions, shallots and garlic once the foliage has flopped over and yellowed. Store them in onion bags to prevent mould developing.
  • French and runner beans are the favourite in all, large or small, gardens. Harvest them little and often to prevent them from setting seed.
  • Keep harvesting courgettes before they become too big!
  • Clear away any diseased and spent foliage around your veg plants to discourage pests and diseases spreading.

 

You do not have to spend days and hours in the garden to make it look pretty for the house buyers. With these easy steps you can achieve the same result – a tidy attractive house on the market will sell quicker.