Summer 2014 Newsletter

What an absolute cracker we’ve had this year weather wise …. lots of warmth and sunshine, interspersed with good amounts of rain to keep our gardens lush and green. As one of our lovely customers said to me last month ‘It makes this gardening lark look easy, doesn’t it?!’

Of course we all know that there’s a lot of hard work and effort put in to reap the rewards, but the rewards have certainly been plentiful this year. My revamped garden is now in its 4^th year and has finally started to become what I had in my mind’s eye when I planned it out …. it’s full and vibrant from early spring onwards, with each month highlighting a new splash of colour to attract the eye. I’m so glad I incorporated a pond (albeit tiny) into the scheme, as it gives us all such joy. Watching the frogspawn turn to tadpoles, which in turn become the tiniest of frogs is just a delight, and in a year with so many slugs around, it’s been great to have a helping hand from the adult frogs in keeping the numbers down. I’ve also really noticed the difference it’s made keeping the bird feeder topped up. Because the birds know that in my garden they’ll get not only food, but water too, I benefit from a multitude of them coming to my place each day, and they, too, have helped keep the less desirable wildlife to a minimum!

The highlight in the garden right now are the Hydrangea paniculata …. Just as so many other parts of the garden are fading, they spring to the front of the stage with their lovely fresh foliage and delicate pale creamy flower heads. In fact, I added a new one (‘Annabelle’) just last week in a rather dark dreary corner, and it’s transformed the space completely.

Other stars in stock right now are the Phlox, Cosmos, Gaura, Fuchsia and Lavender. There are also some lovely Rudbeckia, Helenium, Echinacea, Anemone japonica and Leucanthemum – all of which will carry on flowering for weeks.

In fact, loads has come since I last wrote, and I’m only able to cover a few highlights here, so please pop by and have a look for yourself over the next few weeks.

In other areas, we have finally entered the 21^st Century and are on Twitter! PLEASE sign up and follow as, as to date we only have a handful of followers and feel rather pathetic. You can find us @AlleynparkGC.

Next, here’s an important date for your diary. Please put Saturday 20^th September down as a day to spend in West Dulwich. I can’t say too much right now, but there is something afoot which will be launched in West Dulwich that day. What I CAN say is that we will be hosting an event in the evening, from about 6pm onwards, with music, drinks, food and laughter. Keep the date free!

Sally and I had a quick visit to our growers in Italy a couple of weeks ago, and have picked out some glorious plants to bring over in the coming months. The first shipment will be with us soon, featuring large mature specimen shrubs and trees. As early autumn is the ideal time to be planting this sort of thing, you may want to come and see what we’ve got coming in so you can plan your autumn planting scheme.

We have the last few Kadai firepits of the summer still in stock, so if you don’t have a barbeque, make sure you grab one of them before they’re all gone. I’ve used mine more than ever before this summer, and am SO impressed with the lump wood charcoal I’ve used to cook on … I lit the last barbeque at 1.30pm and it was still hot enough to cook on at 7pm, without adding any more! Very impressive.

Enough from me for now, I think, but as usual Sally’s Garden Tasks follows. Don’t feel guilty if you don’t do everything you should (I never do!) but DO make sure you take time to sit, relax and enjoy your garden.

Kind regards

Karen

Don’t forget that our opening hours in August are just 10am – 4pm every day

Garden jobs for Summer 2014

Summer, glorious summer. The time of picnics, hot sun, huge thunder storms and overgrown gardens! I spent yesterday afternoon with a friend in her garden, weeding the veg patch and generally tidying the long mixed border. What a difference it made, and we caught up on all our news as we worked. Gardening with a friend is a great idea, and you can always return the favour.

Here are some things to be getting on with to keep the garden in good shape.

My top two jobs for summer...

1. Watering: keep on top of water supply, particularly for containers and hanging baskets. Smaller containers need doing every day, and if temperatures are high, twice a day. You will get to know how often to water larger containerised plants. Newly planted trees, shrubs and other plants need a good soaking every few days and recently sown or turfed lawns should be kept watered. Water early morning and evening, avoiding midday temperatures.

2. Deadheading: remove the faded flowers from roses, bedding plants and repeat flowering perennials to ensure continuous flowering. Sweet peas, roses, Dahlias, Cosmos will all flower for much longer if deadheaded. With roses, prune back to a bud in a leaf axil when all the flowers on a stem have faded. With bedding plants, dead heading stops the plants setting seed, and forces them to produce more flowers. Some plants, such as petunias, may get straggly and can be cut hard back with secateurs and fed with a high potash fertiliser to encourage new growth. This is a good thing to do before going on holiday.

Planting

If a gap appears in the border, or you find a pot which needs filling, it's fine to continue planting. Summer bedding can still be planted, as well as larger plants. You may want to introduce some late summer perennials which will flower into the Autumn. Make sure you plant well with a big hole, good compost, Rootgrow and fertiliser, soak the plants beforehand and then water in well.

Plant and garden maintenance

Feeding plants is important. Whether you have established perennials or shrubs not doing their best, containers of summer bedding, or house plants, it's essential to provide the right nutrients. Weaker plants are more susceptible to pests and disease. Know whether your plant is acid loving, such as Azalea, Rhododendron, Camellia etc and needing ericaceous fertiliser. Note that new compost has sufficient nutrients to support plants for 5-6 weeks.

Camellia and other early spring flowering shrubs set their flowers through the summer. Make sure you water and feed them now, especially container grown specimens, for a good show in the spring.
Keep the weeds down by hoeing the borders. Weeds compete with plants for water and nutrients, so get rid of them!
Summer prune Wisteria by cutting the long wispy shoots back to 5 buds.
Remove unwanted growth from trees. Many trees and shrubs produce a mass of shoots at the base, which need to be removed as they sap energy and strength from the plant. Also remove any shoots with plain leaves on variegated plants.
Trim conifer hedges such as Leylandii to keep under control.
Remove spent flower spikes on lavender.
Cut back wayward perennials and give them a feed. Plants such as tall Achilleas can flop and smother smaller plants. Trim them back and they may flower again later. If you haven't already cut back hardy geraniums, do it now to tidy them up and they will produce new growth and may flower again. Feed and water to encourage new growth
Check ponds regularly and top up water levels if necessary. Cut back yellowing leaves and fading flowers from plants around the pond and remove them: plant debris in the water can raise nutrient levels which in turn encourages algae.

Grow your own

Everything will need attention at some stage, whether supporting tall crops, protecting from slug damage, or harvesting.

Water runner beans and tomatoes (and many other crops) regularly. Tomatoes should be kept evenly moist - irregular watering can cause fruit to split.
Sow autumn and winter salads. Lambs lettuce, rocket and many mixed leaf seeds can be sown for extended harvesting. There are many cut and come again varieties.
Pick out the side shoots of tomatoes so that you maintain one main stem. These are the little shoots that emerge where the leaves join the main stem. If you leave them, they take energy from the developing fruits.
When beans reach the top of their supports, pinch out the leading shoot, which will encourage more side shoots and beans lower down.
Cut out old fruited canes on raspberries.
Blueberries in containers must be kept well watered, ideally with rain water or soft water.
Pick herbs to dry or freeze. With most herbs, the more you pick, the more tasty young shoots will be produced. Most herbs will benefit from being trimmed occasionally with garden shears to encourage a flush of new growth. Think about cutting down mint before you go on holiday and make up a big batch of mint sauce in a screw top jar. The vinegar is a preservative, so it lasts for ages. Water and feed the mint, and when you return you should have fresh new leaves.

Lawns

Continue mowing and adjust the height of the blades when necessary. The general consensus is to raise the blades if the weather is hot, removing less grass.
In hot weather leave the clippings on the grass to act as a mulch, helping to retain moisture in the grass and returning organic matter at the same time.

Garden pests

Warm weather can encourage pests and disease in the garden. Greenfly and black fly can multiply really quickly and it can be difficult to keep on top of them. Think about building up diversity in the garden by planting a variety of plants, which will attract beneficial insects and other wildlife, which will improve the balance of pests and predators.

Continue to protect susceptible plants from slugs and snails.
Watch out for powdery mildew, on roses and honeysuckle particularly. Remove affected plant debris, mulch and water, and if possible improve air circulation around the plant. If necessary, treat with an appropriate fungicide.

Wildlife

Keep supplies of food and water going for the birds. If they are used to finding food in your garden, they will continue to visit. Birds help to keep pests down in the garden, so it's well worth doing. One of the best garden sights is a bird splashing around in a bird bath, so keep them full.

Holidays

When you go away, move containers to a shady spot if possible and ask a friend or neighbour to water them. Return the favour when they go away!

What's good, what's disappointing?

Take pictures of successes and boring bits in the garden to remind you next year. For example, a picture of flopped Sedum will remind you that you should cut it down next May/June to reduce the height and make it sturdier next year. Collapsing delphiniums? A support in place 2 or more months ago would have helped. A plant hidden by something bigger in front of it? Mark it to be moved in the Autumn. A fabulous combination of plants, achieved by accident? Take a picture and make notes so that you can do it again.

Enjoy your garden through the next few weeks.

Sally