Hints and tips for July and August

All that planning and preparation is worth it in July and August.  Now you can harvest raspberries, currants, gooseberries and freeze any surplus to cheer up winter menus.  By the end of August, the apple and pear harvest can begin; these fruits can be stored on trays in newspaper.

The lack of rain and heat in June, has not been kind to beans, peas and early potatoes, but will be ready for harvest and the annual courgette glut is under way.

When garlic leaves turn yellow, lift the bulbs and dry in a single layer in a dry place.

Sow seeds for autumn and winter salads.

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 5 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.
• Dead-heading keeps perennials and bedding plants flowering for longer.
• 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

For your diary

Although the Garden Society’ annual show is scheduled for 22nd August, it is unlikely that we will be able to use the hall then.  It is hoped that we can reschedule this event for a later date

Gardens open for charity

Some gardens are open to visitors, please see their arrangements at rhs.org.uk or ngs.org.uk