We love August

This is a good month for lying on your back and looking at the stars.

- JAMES ALEXANDER-SINCLAIR, KATE BRADBURY, LUCY BELLAMY, JAMES ALEXANDER-SINCLAIR.

We concentrate so much on what is going on at soil level that we seldom take the time to look upwards – too much time on our knees planting and weeding. For a change, pick a warm, clear night. Take a drink and a friend, and go and lie on the lawn and breathe. Enjoy the darkness and the unfathomable emptiness of space. If that gets a bit heavy, then there is a meteor shower peaking on 12 August, so keep your eyes peeled for shooting stars.

STAR OF THE MONTH Phlox 'Little Laura'

Sometimes our gardens can feel a little washed out and exhausted in August - all that early-summer fizziness is beginning to take its toll on our plants. A bit like one feels around 3am at a party where you cannot leave until the sun comes up - to be clear, it has been many years since I attended such an occasion, but I still remember the experience! What you need is a fillip and that is something that phlox can supply. A late onrush of colour and, just as important, scent to accompany the dahlias and the annuals.

Trouble free, good for pollinators. Divide in autumn or spring. Take basal cuttings in winter.

Height x Spread 70cm x 60cm

BAREFOOT FANTASY

This is the sort of meadowy planting that we all dream about running through, barefoot and backlit by a setting sun while wearing some sort of diaphanous shift, hair sparkling like a 1970s shampoo ad. Or maybe that's just me? These are annual flowers that include cosmos, cornflowers and coreopsis so, by sowing seed in April on a well-prepared bit of ground, you too can fulfil that particular fantasy.

Mixed annuals from seed

Probably the simplest way to get that meadow feel. Proper wildflower meadows are much trickier as you need poor soil and lots of patience!