July gardening tips for the green (and not so green!) fingered!
Here are some tips for you this July for what you can be getting on with in the garden!
Easy and colourful pots and planters!
Dust off those patio containers and add some colour to your garden this summer. Now is the time for planting up some lovely bedding plants for containers and baskets and it couldn’t be simpler.
Create a nice Mediterranean feel by mixing some trailing ivy with geraniums to give a colourful and simple to look after container or hanging basket. Geraniums are great plants for those people who might not necessarily be green-fingered. They’re simple to look after and give an abundance of colour, without too much effort.
Give them a good watering before you plant them in their containers and then water as required and deadhead the old stems to encourage more flowers. Plant around three or so of the same type for a generous display.
They will also benefit from a feed each two weeks.
Vegetable crops to sow
Through June and July you can sow lots of vegetables directly outside. Why not have a go at growing your own salad leaves this summer and add a few radishes and French beans too for good measure. Just think how you can impress your friends when you tell them that what they’re intake is home-grown!
Get down to your local garden centre and pick up your seeds, the hardest part will be deciding what to plant! Have a good read on the back of the packets for the ideal sowing times.
It’s cheap and fun to watch them grow and the added enjoyment from being healthy to take your rewards is second to none!
Introduce some wildlife into your garden
According to a current Mori commissioned survey by the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society), 38% of gardeners want to do more to encourage wildlife into their gardens, but two in five aren’t quite sure how to go about this and would welcome tips.
Whether you wage feeding trays and nesting boxes, or grow a few plants to encourage and wage for your local wildlife, there are so many things you can do.
Check out the top 10 tips for encouraging wildlife into your garden by visiting http://www.wildaboutgardens.org/Gardening/TopTips.aspx – a new website which give loads of information on what you can do.
Weeding
Oh yes, the dreaded “w” word! Keep fighting the effort against the weeds by removing any flowering stems before they have a chance to drop their seeds. Lots of weeds can just be teased out by hand, but use a hoe or dig out any weeds that have larger roots…..little and often is the solution to staying on top of this.
Mulch
Mulch is a great way of providing a good feed and endorsement to both new and established plants. It can also look good and can even cut down on the weeding (hurrah!) Before laying down mulch, such as composted bark chipping or cocoa shells, ensure that the ground has been given a good water first.
Trim your clematis
Early-flowering species clematis (such as Clematis montana, C. macropetala and C. alpina) can be trimmed if they have become a bit overgrown, but only after flowering.
These plants flower from the growth that’s been produced the previous year and don’t generally require pruning unless it’s needed, so don’t get too carried away. Just a light pruning is enough to remove the spent flowers immediately after flowering.
Isobel Sclater runs a garden design business in South West London (www.isobelsclater.com) and specialises in helping transform outdoor spaces into places that will give their owners year round enjoyment.
