Summer gardening tips

At this time of year, our gardens are likely to be looking their best, with plenty of colour and growth. It’s a time to enjoy all the work you have put into your garden, ideally while the sun is shining, with a cold beer in hand, although we can’t guarantee the weather. However, there are always things that can be done!

Enjoy the garden as a family

If you have planted things in Spring then you are likely to be reaping the rewards now. With the children off school, it’s a great opportunity to get them involved, picking your veggies and fruit. Encourage your children to water. They can also be in charge of feeding the birds and filling the bird bath.  

Cutting back

Dead heading is a very worthwhile activity, for encouraging regrowth. Once things have flowered it may be that they need to be cut back, but always check if you need to do this. Lavender, as well as your herbs are good examples of things you can cut back once they’ve finished.

You might want to leave certain things like sunflowers once they have flowered as they can still be good for the birds and bees.

Leaving wild flowers to grow is also a good idea as these are good for wildlife.

Hedges

Late August is a good time to trim your hedges – providing all the nesting birds have left. Always proceed with care and if you spot any then leave the hedge until it’s clear. If you are using hedge trimmers then cut in an upwards motion to give you a straighter edge and taper it so that it is ever so slightly thinner at the top, as this will allow more light to reach the bottom part.  

Weeds

If you see one then pull it up! At this time of year you don’t want weeds to be stealing precious nutrients from your plants. For persistent ones on paved areas you can pour boiling water on them.

Looking ahead

Now is the time to pick your Spring bulbs, ready for planting in Autumn. Once you have cleared this year’s bedding plants you might want to replace them with Polyanthus, Sweet Williams, Wallflowers, Forget-me-nots, Pansies and Violas.

For water saving tips:https://bit.ly/2COcqZ5