Slugs, tired blooms and thirsty borders? Keep your garden in shape this summer with Pete Harcom’s no-nonsense seasonal checklist
While we can relax and enjoy the garden now, there are always just a few jobs to keep things ‘ship shape and Bristol fashion’.
With mild and wet evenings, slugs and snails can be a problem for some flowers, particularly Dahlias (and yes, I’m speaking from experience!). Try to avoid slug pellets (even organic ones) as they have been shown to have negative effects on wildlife in the garden. It’s better to encourage natural predators, such as birds, frogs, toads, hedgehogs, slowworms and ground beetles, as these all eat slugs and snails.
I find beer traps are very good – just fill a small glass jar with 1/3 beer, and leave it sitting out near any plant/s you want to protect. A few days later, the jar will be filled with dead slugs: just toss them into your compost heap. Or you can try a night-time torchlight assault, and just search and pick the blighters off your plants. Proprietary slug and snail traps are also available from most garden suppliers.
There are many plants that are simply less palatable to slugs and snails. Here are a few which, in my experience, slugs tend to leave alone: Agapanthus, Alchemilla mollis (lady’s mantle), Anemone, Antirrhinum (snapdragon), Aquilegia, Aster, Astilbe, Astrantia, Bergenia, Digitalis (foxglove), Euphorbia, Geranium species, Geum, Pelargonium, Potentilla, Pulmonaria, Saxifraga and Sisyrinchium. There are lots of others – a quick internet search is your friend if you’re planning a slug-resistant garden!
Other jobs to keep on top of:
Keep deadheading flower borders regularly as this prolongs flowering. It also keeps borders free from unsightly dying petals (especially under rose bushes, where they can lead to black spot). Deadheading also helps prevent plants from wasting energy creating unwanted seed heads.
Remember to feed hanging baskets and potted plants with liquid feed to encourage new growth – it will also help to revive any tired displays.
Tender perennials such as Fuchsias are best propagated from cuttings, and July is a great time for Fuchsia cuttings, as young plants root more easily. Dianthus can also be increased this way, by taking cuttings from the tender new growth – try to avoid flowering shoots.
Continue to tie in and train new growth on all climbing plants.
Always water the soil around the base of plants, rather than the foliage.
Ensure bird baths and water features are topped up during hot weather.
