While I never tire of sharing the history of our illustrious Astor family( creators of the wonderful gardens at Hever Castle), you’ ll also find me waxing lyrical about asters in August.

Why choose asters for your borders? A versatile plant that grows in most soils, except very heavy clay, the flowers are wonderful for attracting butterflies and bees, as well as wonderful comments from our visitors! If you’ re looking for something compact for pots or rock gardens then a variety like Starlight, which grows to around 20cms in height, is good, but if you’ re looking for height for your borders there are varieties like Tatarian that grow to two metres tall, so there’ s a lot of diversity here.

Best conditions for optimum growth: Asters enjoy full sun, but will grow in partial shade. They don’ t need to be fed, but they do like water! Ensure their roots are moist as you don’ t want the plants to be waterlogged because they can suffer from a variety of mould, but you do want them to remain hydrated.

One of the great things about the aster is its hardiness and most will survive down to temperatures of-20 ° C. If you’ re looking for a plant that keeps on giving then asters also provide great value and can be lifted and split either after they’ ve finished flowering in late September, or you can split them in March, divide and then replant throughout your borders.

How to split: Asters are prolific and can be split every three to five years in September.

• It’ s important to select a plant that’ s had a vigorous growing year.

• Gently dig around the plant, loosening the earth and then lift.

• Inspect the root system and check that it’ s healthy.

• Using a sharp garden knife, or the blade of a clean garden spade, split the plant and divide it into healthy sized clumps.

• Don’ t worry if some roots get damaged in the process; plants don’ t always need all of their roots, so if some drop off in the move, don’ t panic.

• Ensure that you water your new aster plant and the original parent when they’ re replaced in the earth.

August jobs in the garden: August is a great time to plan ahead. If you want to have cornflowers in May, then plant your seeds now. Some gardeners love to underplant their tulips with forget-me-nots and August is a great time to start sowing seed.

Bear in mind that August can be dry and hot, so ensure everything is watered well.

Keep an eye on your sweet peas- once they pop the seeds are spread. You want the seeds to be properly dry on the vine before picking and the pods brown; it’ s ideal to pick just before they pop. If you can’ t keep a watchful eye on them 24 / 7, a good tip is to pop a paper bag on the top of the seed pods to catch the exploding seeds.

Hever Castle & Gardens is currently open seven days a week.

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