June/July 2007

Early summer finds the borders in an explosion of colour with the hope of plenty more to come. If the majority of the border is in full flower at the moment then fill any gaps with something which will flower later in the year to provide an extended flowering season.

Patio pots and hanging baskets should have been planted up by now to provide instant colour close to the house.

I realise we have had a good amount of rain in May but anticipate the next dry spell by mulching bare ground with bark to help reduce any water loss. Bare earth will crack open and render itself useless for any plant. We may also need to be proactive and change the planting as the climate brings changes to our garden.
If an area is remaining dry even throughout the winter then this needs to be planted with drought tolerant plants. The Italian influence is coming to patches of England as the climate changes in favour of Italian cypress (left)(Cupressus sempervirens), Olives and Palm trees (Trachycarpus fortunei).

Now is the time to prune shrubs that flowered early in the year, for example weigela, philadelphus, kolkwitzia, lilac and deutzia.

A general guide to follow is; if the plant has flowered before Midsummer’s day then prune it straight after flowering. This is due to the fact that the plant will flower on old wood (i.e. growth that it has produced the previous year). A third of the branches should be removed to open up the bush to light and air and to encourage new growth for future flowers. Make sure that you feed the shrubs after pruning and mulch them to help conserve any water loss.

Keep on top of training climbing roses and pull off any leaves which have black marks (black spot disease) on them before it takes hold on the whole plant. Prune Wisteria after it has finished flowering as now is the time to prune it back hard and (if needed) carry out drastic maintenance.

Watch out for those sneaky weeds and don’t let them get out of control. It can be very easy to suddenly realize that the weeds are taller than the plants. Remember that one year’s seed is seven years of weed! Keep dead-heading all plants to encourage further flowering unless you want to collect the seed. If you are unsure of which herbaceous to prune then look down into the crown of the plant to see whether there is a fresh growth of leaves, if so cut the old leaves back to the new growth. Plants with a single stem at the base such as penstemons should be lightly trimmed.

Topiary shapes and hedges have been putting on a growth spurt and would benefit from a light trim at this time of the year. Trimming them now will encourage a strong and bushy framework.

The vegetable garden look luscious and tempting but watch out for those pests that try and beat us to the crop. Carrot and cabbage fly are prevalent in June so cover the carrot crop with fleece if you have a problem. Summer-prune fruit trees to shorten the side shoots of apple, pear, cherry and plum trees to six leaves of the base.

Plants for June and July; Clematis and Lonicera (honeysuckle) are in their prime with all types and colours of flowers. The classic bearded irises arrive in their flamboyant shades accompanied by the lavenders and cistus. Enjoy watching the RHS shows and visiting open gardens so that you can draw ideas from other people’s hard work.

Happy gardening!!

Contacts
The regular "In the Garden" features for Oxygen Magazine are written and researched by Cat Wilkins.

If you have a comment, or would like to make a suggestion for possible future topics, please feel free to email her by clicking on this link: Cat Wilkins