Liz Kirton writes:
Gardening is a hobby that can bring great joy! In June I have seen a wonderful display of irises, rambling roses and poppies – beautiful! BUT I have been much saddened by disease in the onion bed and box moth destroying my 20 year old box hedges.
Looking forward to July, the herbaceous border should be at its best – take a record of which plants need to be divided in the Autumn.
Currants, berries, potatoes, onions, peas and beans should be ready for picking and storing.
When garlic leaves turn yellow, lift the bulbs and dry in a single layer in a dry place.
This is a popular plant with bees – Echinops ritro ‘Veitch’s Blue’
Clip, snip and cut
- Early summer flowering shrubs like Philadelphus: cut back flowered stems to a strong lower shoot and remove one fifth of the old woody stems.
- Clip privet, box, yew, cypress and other ‘hedgy’ plants now the birds have finished nesting in them.
- Cut long whippy shoots of Wisteria to 7 leaves from the main stem.
- Prune out flowered stems of rambling roses; thin out the vigorous new growth and tie it in.
- Summer-prune cordon or espalier apples and pears
- Cut non-flowering side branches of grape vines to 5 leaves and fruit- bearing branches to 2 leaves beyond the fruit bunch.
- Cut back hardy geraniums to the ground after the first flush of flowers to get fresh foliage and more flowers later on.
- In August, trim lavender, leaving an inch (2.5cm) of new growth
Propagate
- Take semi-ripe cuttings from shrubs – use the current season’s growth, cut below a node, remove the soft tips and place in gritty compost.
- Divide bearded irises and plant the young rhizomes 12inches(30cm) apart.
- Use strawberry runners to supply new plants for next year
- Collect seeds from perennials and hardy annuals as they ripen; store in paper envelopes (labelled!) in a cool dry place until spring
Church Crookham Garden Society has its annual show on 20th August. Entry is free for members (£5 p.a) and associate members. You can find the schedule on their website or at the trading shed.
Gardens open for charity
10th and 11th July, 1 Wogbarne Cottages, Rotherwick RG27 9BL
16th and 17th July Hook Cross Allotments, Reading Rd, Hook RG27 9DB
2nd , 3rd & 8th August ‘Selborne’, Caker Lane, East Worldham Alton GU34 3AE, combined with East Worldham Manor
For more gardens open for charity, visit ngs.org.uk or www.pth.org.uk/open-gardens-2022