The Summer months are here. Summer gardening requires a lot of watering, feeding, and deadheading to keep it looking its best in the heat. Fruits and vegetables are ripening. Harvest regularly to extend the harvest period. Do not forget to take the time to enjoy your gardening efforts. Have a barbeque, enjoy summer evenings, and water fights with the kids.
Summer gardening tasks:
Water
The weather is warming up. keep the garden well-watered but use your water wisely. Water the garden in the morning and the evening to prevent the water from evaporating too quickly. Place saucers under patio containers. Use a watering can where possible.
Feed
Feed Roses, flowering shrubs, and the herbaceous border with TopRose or Growmore. Feed Tomatoes, Courgettes, Pumpkins, and Chilis with Tomorite every other week. Feed Citrus plants weekly with Citrus feed.
Plant
Fill in the gaps in the border, hanging baskets, and widow boxes with summer bedding plants such as Lobelia, Geraniums, Begonias, Petunias, and Diascia.
Plant late-summer flowering perennials such as Agapanthus, Salvias, Rudbeckia, Leucanthemums, and Gaura.
Buy spring flowering bulbs from late August to be planted through the Autumn. Daffodils, Tulips, Alliums, and more will be available at The Secret Garden from the August Bank Holiday. Yes, We will be open!
Harvest
Harvest fruits and vegetables as they begin to ripen. Remember to keep sowing Lettuces, Radish, Beetroot, and other fast-growing veg to extend your harvest season.
Prune
Deadhead perennials, roses, and bedding plants to encourage them to flower for longer. Harvest the seeds as they ripen to plant for next year.
Keep Wisterias well pruned to prevent them from becoming a tangled mess.
Trim back leggy herbs. Do not forget to freeze them so that you have a good supply for the winter. Prune out old canes from raspberry plants. Keep hedges trimmed.
Lawn Care
Mow the lawn every other week but make sure not to cut it too closely. Trim the edges with edging sheers and use a half-moon lawn edge to keep the definition between the lawn and the border. Avoid watering the lawn to save water. It may go yellow but it will soon spring back when the rain arrives.
Ponds
Keep the pond topped up with water. Remove blanketweed and duckweed with a net. Barely straw will help keep the water clear but you may also need to apply algae treatment.
Useful links for summer gardening
How to prune Wisteria.
How to conserve water in the garden.
Plants for patio pots and hanging baskets.
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