Anna Pavord: Weekend Work

What to do

* Remember your camellias, especially if they are growing in pots. Flowerbuds are being initiated now for next spring’s display. If the plant is too dry, it will not have the strength to produce these buds.

* Weeds can be brought to heel with a dose of herbicide, but use them only on the calmest of days when there is no danger of spray drifting on to other plants. If you are fighting horsetail, trample it lightly underfoot before spraying. Bruising increases the rate at which the plants absorb the herbicide.

* Well established hedges of beech, hornbeam, privet and yew should be clipped this month. Box, holly, laurel and Leyland cypress should also be tackled if necessary. If you leave the clipping of these much later, new growth will be cut back by frost.

* Herbaceous geraniums should be cut back hard now. They will produce fresh mounds of leaves and if you are lucky, may even flower again.

What to see

* Next weekend (29-31 August, 10am- 4pm; admission £2) Jekka McVicar, Queen of Herbs, is opening her nursery, Jekka’s Herb Farm, to all comers. It’s a rare treat and Jekka herself will be explaining how to look after your herbs through the coming winter (talks every day at 11am and 2.30pm). Get tips on cutting back, splitting, potting up and other techniques and take the chance to ask questions about some of the more unfamiliar herbs she grows at the nursery. It’s at Rose Cottage, Shellards Lane, Alveston, Bristol BS35 3SY, jekkasherbfarm.com