Summers Finale

What a blessing our gardens have been this year. My vegetable garden is abundant and the flower borders floriferous. Now it is all about enjoying the harvesting and picking and of course watering and keeping on top of the weeds !

With restrictions lifting and life supposedly getting back to some normality I find myself cautiously longing to get out and about and do what I have missed, seeing and enjoying other people’s gardens !

I have missed the inspiration which this opportunity provides and the sharing of knowledge,that most gardeners enjoy doing. I was delighted that the Charity Open Gardens in Bessacarr, Doncaster, were taking place this year and I had a lovely afternoon with my mother- in - law looking around so many different and beautiful gardens with a spot of retail therapy too , purchasing home nurtured plants !

I have ticked a long awaited box from the bucket list too by visiting Great Dixter, the family home of gardener and garden writer Christopher Lloyd , famously “ a place of pilgrimage for horticulturalists from across the world” I would highly recommend a visit to this stunning garden that has everything in it from the meadow to the exotic, I could have spent 2 days meandering, just beautiful.

Visiting Stephen (my RHS Chelsea Gold 2016 “The Garden Bed” co designer “) has been another highlight this month because he and his partner are in the process of creating their own garden which I have been keeping up to date with pictorially. It is great to see a fellow designers own garden taking shape.

We have enjoyed the fruits of our labours, our home is constantly full of vases of flowers, the Sweat Peas “Matucana” that I recommended in January, just keep coming and coming and the fragrance is intoxicating.

The anethum graveolens ( Dill ) and Ammi visnaga have been a great companion to the vases of Roses, Peonies and Larkspur.

The new raised beds have been a huge success, and we have enjoyed harvesting and cooking.
We have invested in new vegetarian cook books to make the most of our bumper crop and have given so much away as well as freezing and preserving for the winter!

A new to us and definite choice to grow for next year is Chard "White Silver 2" which has been delicious.
Our tomatoes “Sungold” have been as good as ever, and the new potatoes have been so tasty.

Jobs for the garden in August

Keep an eye on the weather, if its warm and dry keep watering. Don't allow your plants to get stressed due to lack of water. The warm dry weather can increase the chance of mildew or attack from aphids.

If the weather is damp keep an eye out for slugs, if you keep encouraging birds into the garden then this should help control slugs.

Containers need special attention at the height of the summer, I find it easier to move them together. Not only can this look great but it makes watering much easier in August.

Keep the lawns mown regularly on a high blade and feed when necessary with a fertiliser with high potash content to encourage root growth.

Dead head Roses.

Prune rambling roses.

Trim lavender removing old flower stalks.

Cut back perennials that need tidying up which will allow a possible second flowering in the late summer.

Dead head annuals to encourage new growth, for example, Sweat Peas and Cosmos.

Collect seed, I enjoy collecting Poppy seed, Honesty seed, Delphinium and Foxglove.

Have fun planning what bulbs to buy for the Autumn.

Raised Vegetable beds

Keep harvesting, watering and weed free.

Harvest onions on a dry day and store when dry.

Sow lettuce, spring onions, raddish and winter salads.

Flower Garden

Sow :
-Calandulas
-Cornflowers
-Forget me nots - myosotis
-Calafornian poppies
-Wild Carrot - Daucus carota.