Your Garden In July
By Colin Dale, Notcutts Garden Centres
In your borders, many herbaceous perennials will be coming into their own to give colour through late summer and early autumn. Your local garden centre will have good stocks of these, ranging from tried and tested old varieties to new introductions. There are perennials to suit most situations, so just ask for advice! One group of reliable perennials are the hardy Geraniums (Border Cranesbills). By now, many of these will have had their first flush of flowers and can be pruned to the ground, leaves and all. Given a good mulch and feed of general fertiliser, many varieties will repeat flower, treated this way.
Do not neglect your shrubs. Young plants can be pruned to shape now, by removing one third of the vigorous, upright shoots that have grown over the spring and early summer. This treatment will encourage side shoots and a bushier, better shaped plant in future years. Make sure that new plantings do not go short of water if the weather is dry. Give each plant a good soak with a watering can a couple of times a week rather than a quick sprinkle with a hose each night.
If you have a sunny area near to a path or the house, why not plant a herb bed to give scent and provide fresh herbs for the kitchen? Your local garden centre will have a range of culinary herbs with lots of different uses. Many make beautiful border plants with attractive flowers and scented leaves, much loved by butterflies and bees.
Your vegetable garden will be starting to pay off now for all of the hard work in the spring and early summer! Salad crops, early carrots and new potatoes are just some of the rewards to be gathered. Make sure that plants do not go short of water during dry weather, especially as they begin to crop. Runner Beans will require plenty of water as they climb their supports and begin to flower. Greenhouse crops should be watered twice daily and fed with a suitable liquid feed once a week.
Box plants are very versatile – suitable for a wide range of conditions and containers. Their beautiful, evergreen leaves give form and colour through the winter months and provide a quiet back drop to spring bulbs. They can be clipped now, to remove all of the paler new growth and given a feed of general fertiliser.
Summer bedding plants will be in full flower now, in containers and baskets. Take care of them by feeding once a week when you water with a liquid feed such as Miracle Gro or Tomorite. Remove faded blooms regularly to ensure that the plants carry on producing flowers right through the summer and early autumn.
Look ahead to next spring and purchase Wallflower seed that can be sown in a nursery bed now.
Transplant the seedlings to their flowering positions in autumn for a show of scented, velvety blooms for weeks next year!
Top Ten Tips for July
1. Make sure that your outdoor sitting areas are looking at their best with planted containers and baskets. Your local garden centre will have a range of ready planted containers available as well as inspiration to plant up your own!
2. Vegetable plants should not be allowed to go short of water during dry weather, especially as they begin to crop. Green house crops will require watering twice daily and should be fed with a liquid feed every week.
3. Young shrubs can be summer pruned this month, removing some of the vigorous, non flowering shoots by two thirds to encourage branching and a good shape. The twiggy growth produced by pruning will mean more flowers in future years!
4. Remove weeds from borders and mulch any spaces with rotted garden compost. Visit your local garden centre and choose from the range of perennials which will give summer colour for many years to come.
5. Established climbers such as early flowering Honeysuckles and Clematis can be pruned now to remove some of the old, woody growths and encourage new shoots. Give the plant a feed with a general fertiliser and water well after pruning.
6. Removed faded flower clusters from Rhododendrons, where practical, to stop the plants setting seed, by twisting out the flower stem or cutting through it with secateurs. Mulch and feed your ericaceous plants now to ensure a good start to their growing season.
7. Why not plant a herb container or bed near the house in a sunny place? These versatile plants can be used through summer in the kitchen and also provide scent as you brush past them.
8. Many hardy Geraniums (Border Cranesbills) will have had their first flush of flower and can be pruned to the ground now – leaves and all. With a feed and water, many varieties will reward with a second crop of flowers.
9. Box hedges, edging and topiary can be pruned now, removing all of the untidy, fresh young growth. Feed well after pruning with a general fertiliser and make sure the plants do not go short of water.
10. Purchase Wallflower seed and sow in a nursery bed now. These beautiful cottage garden favourites can then be transplanted in autumn where they are to flower next spring.