JULY IN OUR GARDENS by Philippa Thomas.

We have all had to adapt to the strange times that we are currently living in. . . Isn’t it like a war with an invisible enemy . . . Despite All This, July brings long warm days that continue late into the evening. It is such a brilliant time, our gardens are in full swing, it is the perfect time for pottering about.  Enjoy all your beds and borders and your beautiful scents as they reach their peak. Take care not to spray (if at all,) when pollinators are around. You know, rapeseed oil is a fatty acid that blocks the breathing tubes of insects and then, pyrethrins kill by attacking insect’s nervous systems…..Some products can kill all sorts of insects. If you have to use slug pellets, the one that contain ferric phosphate, this works in a different way to metaldehyde, causing molluscs to lose their appetite and starve. It isn’t thought to harm other wildlife……Bear in mind also, that as the number of blooms increase so do the number of bees. Different bees have individual feeding habits, preferring different flowers and depending on how long their tongues are. If ladybirds and lacewing larvae haven’t turned up in your garden, you can buy a biological control to release into your garden. You can even get a breeding kit to keep a supply going. Red Valerians, long- spurred red, pink or white flowers are suited to pollinators with long tongues, such as butterflies and moths.

Time now, is well spent dead heading in order to keep summer plants and bedding at their best and to prolong flowering. The purpose of dead heading is to encourage more flowering. Deadhead, which is cutting off the spent flower head, forces the plant back into cycle to produce flowers and seeds again. With some plants, they need so much dead heading, it can be easier to take a shears to the top growth and very often, a second flush will flower. Our Herbs should be in all their glory now, soft leaved herbs like flat and curly parsley, basil, oregano and mint should be prolific. Rosemary, thyme and sage also thrive at this time of the year. These woody herbs can be dried now for winter use. Simply, hang whole sprigs in a dry airing cupboard by tying at the stalk end, wait until the leaves are completely dry. Maybe, preserve softer leaved herbs for use in soups, sauces and stews by freezing in ice cube trays. Herby ice cubes great in summer cocktails, lemonades and Pimms.

My big loves presently, are my golden hop, Humulus Lupulus Aureus, a deciduous climber which is intertwined with my beloved wisteria, alba, (Alba is growing in some dug up cobblelock) and the golden hop stands outside the kitchen door in a very large rectangular terracotta pot and all through this summer, it has been a feature, – hard to grow tired of admiring, its effect is sublime and it oozes sophistication and character with its striking limey green foliage and texture.

Maybe, still time to sow Echium Vulgare, ‘Blue Bedder’, Cornflowers, Poppies –  Opium, Californian or the common corn poppy for a carpet of late flowers, ultimately bees, hover flies and butterflies will be very happy. Mother Nature will always programme/direct our planting, it takes command . . . It has its own way of weaving its acceptable, scenic and sometimes, dynamic tapestry. Plants seem to accommodate each other. They seem to try their ‘damn-dist’ hardest to fit into our world, to adapt. So, even some plants that need to thrive in acid soil will try their utmost to live beside another plant that requires alkaline soil. . . makes one wonder sometimes, about our neighbourly friendless . .. Only, at times!

Something To Consider Seeds can be sown in black- plastic guttering. They germinate quickly and consistently and transplant outside happily without a hiccough. Black guttering provides and absorbs warmth and lends a little bottom heat for rapid germination and quick root growth. Sow your seed carefully spaced, so you don’t need to thin the seedlings. Cover with a thin layer of compost and water. Water the seedlings in order to glue the compost together and then, slide them plant by plant from the gutter pipe into the soil. Dig individual holes and slide plants in.

The David Austin Rose Company has released two new roses, ‘The Country Parson’ and ‘Silas Marner’, which were due to be on display at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show which was of course, cancelled due to Covid 19, however are available to buy on line, once the current restrictions have passed. “the greatest gift of the garden.

“The Greatest Gift Of The Garden Is The Restoration Of The Five Senses”

Hanna Rion.

“Summer Is The Time When One Sheds One’s Tensions With Ones Clothes, And The Right Kind Of Day is Jewelled Balm For the Battered Spirit. A Few Of Those Days And You Can Become Drunk With The Belief That All’s Right With The World”.

Ada Louise Huxtable.

“There Is Always Music Among The Trees In The Garden, But Our Hearts Must Be Very Quiet To Hear It”

Minnie Aumonier.

Might Do, Maybe July Jobs

  1. Maybe, have a star party within your inner space.
  2. Damp down your greenhouse on hot days in order to increase humidity and to deter red spider mite. Open vents and doors daily to provide adequate ventilation.
  3. Water the soil around the base of plants rather than the foliage. Make pools around individual plants so that the water is directed to the roots where it is needed.
  4. Lilies. Possibly best, (though I have some in terracotta pots,) to plant lily bulbs straight into the ground, give them plenty of room and good heavy soil and horticultural grit for their drainage. Most varieties thrive with their bulbs in the shade and their tops emerging in full sun. Keep an eye out for scarlet lily beetle on your lilies, also check for sticky brown larvae, their excrement, on the underside of leaves.
  5. The compost may have shrunk away slightly from the sides of pots. Pack this gap with good new mix. This will give your plants a new lease of life.
  6. Hand tie a bunch, use hardy annuals, such as Cornflowers, Nigellas, Calendulas, before they finish. Dip stem ends in boiling water for 15 seconds, then into cold, for a few minutes before you arrange.
  7. Cutting back growth in hanging baskets can encourage new flowers and foliage and will revive the display. Make sure you feed your baskets well after doing this.