Must Do Gardening Tips for July
THE VILLAGE GARDENER
Must Do Gardening Tips for July
Jobs for July from Susan Bowen MBE
- Cut back growth in hanging baskets and feed to encourage new growth.
- Prune wisteria now. Just remove the whippy side shoots to about five leaves from the main stem.
- Cut spent stems of lupins to promote new growth.
- Dead head bedding plants to keep displays going.
- Don’t let dandelions go to seed.
Sylvia Davies of that lovely garden opposite the Walston Castle
- High potash feed will give you brilliant blooms on many flowers especially sunflowers.
- Use grass clippings to cover potato tubers that are near the surface to stop them going green.
- Keep up the hoeing of weeds to give your plants a better chance.
- Keep greenhouse clear of disease by clearing up any fallen or dying leaves.
- Check your pots for vine weevil if your plants are wilting for no obvious reason.
Watering consistently is so important as plants can wilt, become stressed or stunted. Large leafed plants need a lot more water than small leafed ones. Newly planted trees and shrubs will be in particular need of watering in dry spells. Check plants in pots, even after rain, and terracotta pots should be lined with polythene to prevent moisture loss through the sides. For plants in the garden you should water generously but less frequently to encourage roots to grow deeper and overtime become more tolerant of dry conditions. Bark or gravel around the base of plants will help retain moisture. Lawns are very tolerant of dry conditions and will recover well; on cricket pitches they cut the grass down to virtually the roots and it recovers. If you really must water, then do it thoroughly as just a sprinkle will do more harm than good.
We need to give our plants proper attention during the summer months as a lot of work went into getting them to this stage, so feeding, deadheading, and watering will prolong the display. Herbaceous geraniums need to be cut down to the floor after flowering to give a 2nd flush. Roses need constant dead heading but the results are worth it. Sid & Linda Cottle of Gwenfo Drive have a lovely garden full of roses which are always in good fettle.
July is the best time of year to sow foxgloves and wallflowers for a display next year, if you have doubts about whether you can be bothered just remember what Dick Turpin is selling them for in the garden centre. You will need to sow delphiniums now as this is the latest time to be certain of blooms next year.
At 85 years young Herbie is proof that working the soil is good for you and on his allotment at Twyn-yr-Odin he dishes out advice whether you ask for it or not. I caught him on a ladder trying to pick his broad beans and asked him for some tips to put in the gardening column. Ever obliging he said water daily and not just a splash, hoe weeds on dry days and they are guaranteed to die, always remove dying leaves from plants to prevent disease, check for aphids on the runner beans and rub them off with your hands and take the tops off broad beans to deter black fly.
The panel at gardeners question time in the library hub on the 27th May want to mention through this column that they were made to feel most welcome and enjoyed a pleasant evening. The knowledge displayed by the audience left them in no doubt that gardens in Wenvoe are in safe hands.
Take care and happy gardening
;