The August Garden
August brings “the promise of golden sunsets, reminding us to find beauty in every ending.” I’m quite good at endings. It comes with practice I suppose – all those exam classes and drama productions which require your eyes to be fixed firmly on the end of the ‘project’ from the very beginning. Despite being the height of the school summer holiday (except in Scotland), August seems more like a beautiful ending. Harvest is in full swing; the leaves are turning; there’s plenty to forage in the hedgerows; chutney-making starts in earnest and if you’re lucky there’s a trip to a sunflower field, a saunter round a maize maze or a beach sunset to enjoy. This year, more than ever as the drought and high temperatures has brought everything forward. My garden is awash with brown leaves and I’ve been picking blackberries for weeks.
There’s no better way to spend an hour than in taking a glut of produce from the garden and turning it into chutney to fill the pantry for the winter or to pop into Christmas hampers. I don’t follow a recipe but add apple cider or red wine vinegar, brown sugar and a spice mix to whatever gluts we have of fruit. If you’d be happier following instructions, ask friends and family members if they have any heirloom recipes laying about. Chutney-making is the perfect opportunity to keep the past alive.
When I’m not stirring a preserve pan, you’ll find me cutting dahlias. Take a trip to the pillar garden at The Courts in nearby Holt right now and you will be rewarded with a paradise of rich jewel hues. In my own garden dahlias, rudbeckia, sunflowers, echinacea and calendula are all doing their bit. To get the best from your dahlia patch in August next year you’ll need to order tubers in February and pot them up in early April, planting them out after the frost in May. They’ll bloom away until the first frosts blacken them. Cut them often and they’ll reward you by flowering more. Then you can lift them and store in spent compost in the shed until Spring or cut them down to ground level and cover them with a deep layer of mulch. They’ll be slower to get going but even in our clay soil I haven’t lost any over the years. And who has the patience and room to lift, clean and store them all over winter if you have a dahlia-passion like mine?
You can of course have a colourful garden earlier in the year by planning ahead and sowing hardy annuals now for flowering next year. So, if you’re dreaming of a cutting patch which is awash with colour, a haven for wildlife and which will provide fresh flowers to enjoy or give to friends for minimal cost, now is the time to order those seeds and prepare the ground.
August evenings are for wandering on the beach or sitting in the garden watching the sun go down. I’m not sure that sunset therapy is a recognised prescription for mental health - but there is plenty of evidence to suggest that it is a mood booster, reducing stress and increasing creative thinking. The soothing colours of a sunset can bring out feelings of serenity, calm and optimism, inspiring that awe of nature that so preoccupied the Romantics. It is as a visual cue to slow down and unwind, lowering your heart rate and easing muscle tension. Sunsets also trigger the release of dopamine, a feel-good chemical in the brain. Moreover, taking time to appreciate a sunset forces you to be present in the moment and reduces levels of the stress hormone cortisol, up to the rate of 21% an hour. And you’ll sleep better as the diminishing light of a sunset helps regulate your circadian rhythm.
August Bank holiday is the last hurrah of the school holidays in England and Wales, the last bank holiday of the calendar year and I feel compelled to make the most of it. A picnic and a toddle around some garden, stately home or country lane is de rigueur. I’d encourage anyone spending time with children to try crafting a nature mandala - an excellent way to explore your creative or artistic streak, practise mindfulness and appreciate nature. Not just for children either.
Search an area for materials to use and then mindfully craft your artwork. It can be a solitary activity, or you can work as a group, communicating and compromising. Mandalas often include repeating patterns so try to gather multiples of objects. A flat, empty space is ideal and one that will contrast nicely with your materials. Organise your materials into piles to make them easier to work with. Assemble your mandala, placing the most interesting item in the centre and working in rings outwards from the centre.Stand back and admire your handiwork. Take a picture and celebrate the temporary nature of your art. Mandalas are meant to be a transient beauty, disassembled in a moment by the wind, a curious animal or a determined child. In the meantime, they will more often than not put a smile on the face of a passer-by.
What better way to mark the changing of the seasons?