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Here Comes the Summer Sun!
The height of summer is upon us and it is time to reduce your stress levels, get out into the garden and make the most of the better weather.
The longer you are in the garden, the more benefit you will receive from physical exercise and fresh air – half an hour of gardening can use up to the same amount of calories as a half hour aerobic workout!
The Horticultural Trades Association has chosen the hydrangea as their Plant of the Month – with beautiful large flowers in a variety of shades to suit most garden colour schemes and soils. So take a look at our selection on your next visit to Grosvenor.
This month it is time to pick summer fruit and use any surplus to make jams for the coming months. Enjoy pies and desserts with apples and blackberries and prepare your strawberry beds now for next year.
Enjoy kernels of sweetcorn this month as it is the perfect time to harvest these vegetables and more, including fast growing vegetables such as French beans, courgettes, cucumbers and tomatoes. Freeze any excess to enjoy throughout the winter.
Onions, garlic and shallots can also be raised when ready – watch for the stem to change colour and begin to bend. They will need to dry out before you eat them and will then taste delicious.
We encourage the recycling of water for bird baths and ponds but would suggest fresh or rainwater for crops suitable for eating.
Flowering herbs should be cut back now as this will encourage a second growth and herbs can now be potted and taken indoors so that you can use them easily over the coming winter.
Hanging baskets should still be going strong so keep on top of deadheading to encourage flowering right through to the autumn. This also applies to bedding and we should now be cutting back herbaceous plants and hardy geraniums.
Wisteria and pyracantha, together with climbing and rambling roses, can be pruned if they have finished flowering and perennials can now be divided. Make sure they do not dry out though! Hebes and lavenders can also be cut back gently.
Towards the end of the month is a great time to begin to sow bi-annuals into your borders ready for wonderful displays of flowers next summer.
Grosvenor Gardening Tips for August
1. Continue to water weekly and feed with a liquid feed weekly or fortnightly
2. Trim hedges – don’t forget to ensure any nesting or sheltering wildlife is protected
3. Continue to deadhead shrubs to encourage longer flowering
4. Your lawn may begin to look brown now but don’t worry – it will soon become green again with the first autumn rains
5. Clean water features with algicides – especially if the water is shallow
6. Clean your bird bath and bird tables
7. Plant particular plants to attract insects – especially those with single flowers
8. Watch out for British bats during the evenings – they keep midges and other small insects at bay!
