Summer 2015 Newsletter

I’m writing this from home, looking out over the garden on a glorious blue-skied sunny day. It’s going to be one of those perfect ones … not too hot, and with a gentle breeze, that not only keeps us cool but adds the sound of whispering leaves to all the other background garden noises.

Sound is a dimension that can be overlooked when planning a garden, but it is an essential part of our overall experience when outside and its importance shouldn’t be ignored. I’m definitely NOT talking about wind chimes! They have their place, but can be invasive, whereas moving leaves, birdsong, and even the sound of a distant lawnmower are all evocative of warm summers spent lazing in our green spaces. If you don’t have the rustling of leaves in your space, why not consider adding a tree or even a clump of bamboo, both of which will give you sound and movement?

As well as sound, movement and greenery we do need colour, don’t we? The stars in the garden this month for me are, without doubt, Hydrangea paniculata, Geranium Rosanne (which just goes on and on and on!) and Verbena (both Bonariensis and Rigida). All of these long flowering specimens will see you through the summer and into early autumn, and the Hydrangea and Verbena also both have lovely seed heads that give structure and form.

Other plants coming into their own just now are Crocosmia, Helenium, Echinacea, Leucanthemum and Salvia, to name but a few, with the late flowering Anemone japonica (Japanese anemone) soon to put on their late summer show.

Dorota and I recently returned from visiting our growers in Italy, where we managed to secure an excellent deal on the stalwart evergreen climber Trachelospermum jasminoides (‘Star’ jasmine). This is a brilliant plant, which thrives in almost any conditions. Anyway, if you need a fence, wall, pergola or arch covered, now is the time to come and buy this plant because, while stocks last, we are offering these plants as

BUY ONE, GET ONE FREE!

The plants are priced at £19.95 each, so you can see this really is an excellent offer.

We still have Kadai firepits in stock, so if you don’t have a barbeque, make sure you grab one of them before they’re all gone. I had a staff barbeque at my place recently for the entire team who work at the garden centre, and even my small 60cm Kadai was more than able to cook all the food needed …. with Robby present, that’s quite a task! (sorry, Rob!)

In the shop we have again extended the range we have on homeware items from Dassie, as it seems they just keep producing items I simply must have! Check out the exquisite new ‘cabbage leaf’ platters – ideal for casual summer dining. Our range of Sara Page china is ever-popular - the trays with 3 small bowls are ideal for serving olives, nuts or tapas nibbles. With a few tea light lanterns on the table and a bottle of something chilled to go with the food, what more could you possibly need?

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!), however there is one job I simply have to do now and that is the summer prune of the wisteria …. if you have one, and haven’t done so already, I strongly suggest you do likewise.

Kind regards

Karen

Garden jobs for
Summer 2015

The lovely summer months of holidays, lazy days, being outside and enjoying the sights, scents and sounds of the season. You will enjoy being in the garden for a relaxing picnic or barbeque even more if you’ve spent a little time doing some jobs to keep plants and lawns looking their best!

My top two jobs for summer...

1. Watering : Keep everything watered, especially pots, containers, recently planted trees, shrubs and borders. Water in the early morning or evening, when there will be less evaporation. You will get to know how often to water larger containerised plants, but smaller containers need doing every day, or, if temperatures are high, twice a day. New plantings and recently sown or turfed lawns need a good soaking every few days, so that the water gets down to the roots.

2. Deadheading : Sweet peas, roses, dahlias... most plants will flower for longer if spent flowers are removed by deadheading. Deadhead roses, not by snapping the flowerhead off, but by cutting back to a bud in a leaf axil lower down the stem. This will encourage strong new shoots which will produce more flowers, often well into the autumn. 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, there’s plenty of choice. As well as summer bedding plants, think about more permanent planting in containers: evergreen Heuchera, prolifically flowering hardy geraniums, ferns, herbs, roses… the options are almost endless.
• Introduce some late summer perennials to borders or pots 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. New compost contains nutrients to support plants for 5-6 weeks, thereafter you need to use suitable fertilisers. Established perennials and shrubs which are not performing well, containers of summer bedding, and house plants will all benefit from regular feeding with the right fertiliser. Know whether your plant is acid loving, such as Azalea, Rhododendron, Pieris or Camellia, therefore requiring ericaceous fertiliser.
• 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 it really is worth keeping on top of them.
• Summer prune Wisteria by cutting the long wispy shoots back to 5 buds. For guidance on this, look at our Pruning Wisteria notes on our News and Info page.
• Remove unwanted growth from trees. Many trees and shrubs produce a mass of shoots at the base, which need to be removed because they sap energy and strength from the plant.
• Remove any shoots with plain leaves on variegated plants such as Euonymus.
• Trim conifer hedges such as Leylandii to keep under control.
• Remove spent flower spikes on lavender, ahead of cutting the whole plant back when it has finished flowering in the autumn.
• Cut back straggly 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.
• Water evaporates very quickly in hot weather, so check ponds regularly and top up water levels if necessary, but only with rainwater. It is harmful for wildlife in the pond if you use tap water. Remove 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.

Vegetables, fruit and herbs

• Everything in the vegetable garden or allotment 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. Side shoots 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.

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.

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, improving 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, water and mulch, 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, need I say more?

Holidays

• When you go away, group containers together in a shady spot if possible and ask a friend or neighbour to water them. Invite them to enjoy tomatoes, beans and other soft fruit and vegetables, which will ensure that the supply continues when you return. Return the favour when they go away!

I hope you enjoy some lazy summer days outside, let’s make the most of it!

Sally