GARDEN Summertime in the garden With Garden Designer, Sally Cunis
Nothing is quite as magical and breathtaking as the English garden at the height of summer.
It can be as romantic and
bucolic as stepping onto the set of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and through the door of “The Secret Garden” or as dramatic as pushing your way through exotic, colourful and luscious foliage on “Treasure Island.”
Whatever your personal taste in gardening, trees, shrubs and plants are bursting with vigour and exuberance now and growth everywhere is exceptional. Colour in both flower and foliage is stronger than in spring and early summer; flowers and bulbs in purples, bright pinks, reds and oranges contrast with lime green and purple foliage.
The air is full of the perfume of roses, lavender, honeysuckle
‘‘Roses suit mixed borders; they climb happily over arbours, pergolas and arches, can be tied against frames and up a sun-baked wall’’
and Nicotiana and the noise of the constant chirping of countless small garden birds darting in and out of the bushes looking for food and feeding on aphids.
Summer heat and vigorous growth demands constant input from the gardener in terms of pruning, weeding, watering and feeding.
In the ornamental garden Pots, hanging baskets and roses should be watered regularly in hot weather, preferably morning and evening. Liquid feed weekly or as required. Keep dead-heading roses and perennials to prolong the period of flowering unless, in the case of roses, they have interesting hips in the autumn or if you like to leave them for the birds. Like me, save and dry rose petals to use as wedding confetti. Wisteria, dripping with fabulous flowers earlier in the year, can be summer pruned in July and August.
In the greenhouse Water tomato plants regularly
to discourage blossom-end rot and give a weekly feed once they
Hemerocallis Alliums, Iris, Salvia and Box Nicotiana sylvestris
are in flower and producing fruit. For cordon grown tomatoes, limit the number of trusses to about six and pinch out the top thereby concentrating energy into producing good quality fruit. Too many side shoots may cause the plants to bend and snap. Side shoots which are pinched out can be potted up to provide further tomato plants.
Look out for pests in the greenhouse. Damp down the floor to discourage red spider mite. Use an organic pesticide if necessary or remove pests by hand. Open vents and the door on hot days to allow fresh air to circulate.
In the vegetable garden
Carry on hoeing weeds and water vegetables regularly. Lift onions and garlic as they mature; leave onions to dry on top of the bed as they are lifted. Pinch out runner beans when they reach the top of the canes to concentrate energy into producing flowers and beans.
Roses, Iris and Alliums 68
aroundtownmagazine.co.uk
Rose Veilchenblau, Lavender and Fennel
If the weather is very warm, mow lawns less frequently, setting
Astrantia
the blades higher than usual to prevent scorching and brown patches. Avoid mowing during a heatwave as this can reduce lawn health. Tired lawns might benefit also from a liquid feed to boost vitality. Feed can be easily applied using a watering can following the manufacturer’s instructions. Remember to put out fresh water for the birds in hot weather. I leave water on the terrace for the hedgehogs in summer as a thank you for cleaning up the slugs and snails for me.
As this is traditionally the time of year for annual holidays, plan ahead if there is much to do in the garden such as potatoes to be lifted, watering to be done, lawns to be cut, hanging baskets to be dead-headed and pampered and soft fruit to be harvested. If you can reciprocate, friends and neighbours are usually pleased to help although, many years ago, we returned from holiday to find “help yourself to SOME soft fruit” meant that all the raspberry and redcurrant bushes had been stripped bare by previous neighbours!
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