Firstly, choose the right plants but once that is done the most important thin is looking after them. Probably the most important thing is to keep the compost evenly moist at all times. This may mean watering every day in high heat – use a hosepipe (unless there’s a ban) to make life easier.
Stand all containers on pot feet to lift them off the ground and prevent them getting waterlogged. Good drainage is key to preventing rotting roots, especially after heavy rain.
Grouping containers with similar watering needs also makes the job easier and ensures no plant is either over or under watered.
Every six weeks give a liquid feed – they can only contain limited nutrients for a certain amount of time, so will need a top-up.
Generally, a standard tomato feed works well and is much cheaper than some other feeds. Buy a large bottle and use it on a variety of plants. If the compost is dry, water first and feed after – don’t pour feed on dry compost.
Remember to deadhead your plants. It dramatically improves their appearance.
– PONDS are often overlooked in summer but prolonged sunshine and heat can affect all garden pools and water features.
Make sure you top up ponds from a water butt, but if you have to use top water (which has chemicals in it), stand filled watering cans overnight so choline can dissipate.
Tidy up marginal plants so they don’t fall in the pond, where they’ll break down and affect the water.
Twirl more vigorous plants around a stick to scoop them out with a net. Warm weather provides the perfect conditions for algae to thrive, so control with floating barley straw bales or use a liquid extract.
– DURING July, some later spring and early summer-flowering plants tart to look a little rough around the edges with sprawling foliage, fading flowers and flopping stems. Mildew can also be a problem when the summer is as hot as it is. However, by cutting certain perennials back now they’ll reward you with fresh new growth and maybe a second flush of late flowers.
Plants such as centaurea, certain salvias, delphiniums, lupins, Oriental poppies, some hardy geraniums, alchemilla and cat mint can be cut back to just above ground level.
Water the plants and feed with liquid seaweed, and fresh new foliage will soon fill the bar patch within a couple of weeks. You can stagger the cutbacks to avoid losing all the growth at once.
– THIS year’s camelia flowers might have finished, but, from July through to early autumn, next year’s flower buds will start to develop.
They form in the growing tips of this season’s growth and start to swell through autumn reader to flower early next spring. Therefore, it’s vital to keep the soil moist around the plant roots or buds won’t form. They’ll also benefit from an ericaceous feed.
Author: Jonny
Author of Gardening Life!