What you can do in the Summer

So far its been another soggy summer which makes it difficult to get out gardening as often as we like so when your out make it count.

Lawns - If you like a really nice lawn try to weed and feed it every two - three weeks. When you see that the weed and feed has started to take effect and the moss is blackening give it a good scarifying and keep it well aerated. Mow as often as you can, once a week at the moment but as we get into late august and September every 10days - two weeks should suffice. Always edge the lawn after mowing to stop it creeping into your borders.

Tubs and containers - Even though we're getting a lot of rainfall some tubs and baskets tend to placed in the rain shadow of the house so don't forget to water them even on wet days. Regular dead heading will give you more flowers and a bushier plant. And a feed of some kind is important but the frequency depends on which sort of compost you have used and which feed you get so please refer to the manufacturers instructions.

Perennial borders - Dead head as necessary. Cut back things that have finished such as corn flowers and some of the hardy geraniums. Sometimes they will flower again for you. Watch out for those rose bay willow herb poking out through the plants and pull them out before they go to seed.  Keep on top of the weeds as often as possible.

Ponds - Keep clear of any blanket weed such as duck weed, scoop it out with a fishing net. If you only have a small pond then you should be able to tidy up the plants around it, remove dead leaves etc.

Veg & fruit - you can be making successional sowing of salad crops such as lettuce, radish and rocket all through summer. Get out there and get harvesting - you've put all the hard work in don't let the birds reap the rewards.


If you have any questions at all about anything horticultural then please fell free to contact me on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it