This month we enjoy our last Bank Holiday before Christmas, so let’s make the most of the great outdoors before autumn arrives!

With another month to go before the children go back to school, why not introduce them to a great new hobby and get them away from the television and into the garden? Inspire them with their own vegetable patch or border to get them started and our Children’s Plant Workshops are here every Tuesday until 31st August too, so click here for more information.

If you are spending your holidays at home this year, you really want your garden to be at its beautiful best so you can relax and enjoy it. 

The pinnacle of a lovely garden is a lush lawn and what better way to spend August than by stretching out with the grass between your toes and enjoying delicious picnics?  To ensure your lawn is inviting, simply continue to trim it weekly and remember to collect the cuttings for the compost heap.  Strim or use shears on the edges for an instant, neater look and make sure the borders and lawn are weed-free.  Water and feed your lawn now too – weekly will be perfect. 

Your borders should still be abundant with colour as the weather, although warm, is also fairly wet so perfect for growth.  Combat this growth spurt by keeping on top of deadheading fading blooms and feeding bedding plants to encourage new flowers. 

Take cuttings of tender perennials too now such as Osteospermum and Argyranthemum and Felicia.  Cut off any stems and cut to about 8cm in length, making a long cut below a leaf joint.  Place the cuttings around the edge of a compost filled pot and cover with clear polythene. 

As soon as winter-flowering pansy seedlings and plants are big enough to move, prepare an area of soil and spray any annual weeds the day before you plant them out.

Colchicum byzantinum innocence

You can now plant crocus bulbs and meadow saffron (Colchicum autumnale) for flowering in the autumn and Camellias and Rhododendrons should be fed for the last time during August while the buds are still forming ready for a beautiful display next year.  Always ensure these plants receive plenty of water so that the new buds do not drop prematurely.  And stop feeding at the end of the month so that the buds do keep until next spring.

You will find that your weeds are still fast-growing and flowering too so should be easy to kill by using a glyphosate weedkiller.  Make sure you protect your plants so they are not damaged by the weedkiller and choose a day when the weather is settled and dry.

Treat your roses now so that they stay clear of pests such as black and greenfly and are protected from mildew, blackspot and rust.

Feed roses this month for a second flush of blooms

Pots and planted containers on patios always look good – and are a great way of adding instant colour to an otherwise dull area.  Remember that regular watering and feeding of container plants and hanging baskets is essential.  A dousing is best – in the evening so that the heat of the day does not scorch the leaves when wet.

Protect from aphids and plan to grow on your plants now ready for colourful pots and baskets during the autumn and winter months.  Early planting will ensure that your containers are well established before they are displayed in your garden.  By mixing flowering and foliage plants, you will create interest for longer – use ornamental cabbage or variegated ivy for contrast.

Sunday lunch will taste much better if you have grown your own vegetables and this month your plate should be bursting with a variety ready for harvesting just now.  You should have potatoes, broad beans, climbing French and runner beans, courgettes to choose from - and plenty of salad ingredients too.  And who can resist that sense of achievement when you present such a wholesome feast to your family and friends?  And the taste?  Delicious!  

Harvest your vegetables carefully and choose from plants that constantly produce flowers such as courgettes and runner beans to encourage more vegetables.  Make sure you pick over the plants every two to three days for a maximum crop.   Dry shallots by leaving them on a windowsill or in a shed so that they ripen before you store them.  Why not pickle them ready for winter?

Sow salad leaves every couple of weeks now so that you have plenty of tasty leaves for enjoying throughout the autumn.  And hang your herbs in bunches in a cool, airy location or chop up and freeze in water in ice cube trays – delicious in a refreshing Pimms, or add to your potatoes during the winter months!

Prune your trained apples and pears to restrict new growth.  Pick your soft fruits as soon as they are ripe and make sure the birds don’t steal your produce!  Use netting to maintain your full crop.  Be aware that wasps are attracted to ripening soft fruits so make sure you are careful when picking fruit.

Finally, enjoy the last of the summer as it won’t be long before we are offering you gardening tips for the winter!

Visit Grosvenor on Sunday 8^th May at 11.30am to meet Marita Phillips, author of newly released children’s book, ‘The Dream Dealer’.

Marita will be reading from and signing copies of, ‘The Dream Dealer’, the reality meets fantasy novel aimed at children aged 9 to 13. 

 

Sister to the Duchess of Westminster, Marita has chosen to launch her book in Chester.  She wrote the libretto for the opera ‘The Poet and the Tsar’ based on the lives of their great great great grandfathers, the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin and Tsar Nicholas I of Russia. 

Marita also spent many years writing lyrics for artists such as Art Garfunkel and Demis Roussos and wrote two musicals for children including the original story, ‘The Dream Dealer’ before being encouraged by a peer within children’s theatre to write the book.

“Our book department is popular with both adults and children and we are delighted that Marita has chosen the Garden Centre as part of her book launch programme,” commented Emma Roberts, Buyer. 

See Marita at Grosvenor on Wrexham Road, Belgrave, Chester CH4 9EB on Sunday 8^th May, reading at 11.30am and signing until 1pm.

For more information on ‘The Dream Dealer’ visit www.thedreamdealer.com.

With only a few days to go, why not celebrate the Royal Wedding by adding a beautiful new deep red ‘Royal William’ rose to your garden this week?

This fragrant, hybrid tea rose offers the flush of large deep red blooms offset by glossy, dark green foliage tinged with red hues and will make a bold statement in any bed or border.  

The ‘Royal William’ flowers from summer right through to autumn and will be the perfect addition to any garden during this Royal Wedding year.

Not only is it hardy and so covered by our five year hardy plant guarantee for extra peace of mind, it is also highly disease resistant so a great starting point for the novice gardener.

Listen out for Pete Davies, one of our team of horticulturalists, who will be on Dee 106.3FM next Tuesday lunchtime with plenty of tips for keeping your roses in tip top shape!