Summers here!

Posted:21 July 2012

So good to see blue skies at last, summer’s here and isnt it welcome after weeks and weeks of rain? The good thing is that most plants have survived and grown away like mad, the downside is too much lush growth can mean over-tall and untidy plants, so time to sort out the borders a bit. Also gone crazy are the slugs and snails, theyre everywhere – mainly chomping their way through my dahlias!

• Clear space in the borders by pulling out any early annuals or cutting back early flowering perennials
• At last you can plant out any half-hardy annuals you’ve kept under cover due to the heavy rain
• Keep feeding your tomatoes – with any luck they’ll recover from what has been a fairly disastrous early summer
• Keep planting lettuces
• You can start collecting seeds from plants like Honesty and poppies
• Pin down strawberry runners into soil to make new plants
• Deadhead like mad, keep tidying up bedding plants, perennials and shrub roses and tie in vigorous climbers. Leave roses that produce attractive hips
• Disbud and dead-head dahlias if growing for large blooms
• Give the lawn a quick-acting summer feed, especially if a spring feed was not done
• Cut back delphiniums and geraniums after the first flush of flowers to encourage a second flowering period. Feed after cutting them back
• Divide clumps of bearded iris
• Tidy up fallen leaves, flowers and compost this will prevent potential pest and disease problems
• Check plants regularly for signs of glasshouse whitefly, leafhopper, glasshouse red spider mite, mealybugs and scale insects
• Don’t forget to keep watering your pots, they’ll dry out really quickly now that warm weather is here

And in between all the garden housekeeping enjoy the sunshine!