The English Garden

Unparalleled in their August marvellousness at Perch Hill are of course tomatoes. The smell of the stems and leaves that lingers after pinching is almost as good as the taste of the fruit. We grow groves of tomatoes in the greenhouse here, and these are sometimes supplemented with the hardier and more reliable ones growing in a sunny spot in the garden. And we plant lots of basil in amongst and through our tomato jungle. 

All the latest garden news and the best UK garden events to look out for in August.

Discover how to summer prune apple trees to get more fruit in this helpful film. Pruning trees often scares people, but we show you how to cut back new growth in a few simple steps. Tamsin Westhorpe, gardener at Stockton Bury Gardens, shows how easy it is. Winter pruning is focused on growth, but summer pruning is done to make sure you get a really great crop of fruit next year.