Summer garden care: prolonging blooms, managing invasive species and prepping for next year’s display with expert advice from Pete Harcom

t’s finally time to relax and enjoy the garden – just a few jobs this month to keep things under control.
The first is to regularly deadhead the borders to prolong flowering.
This keeps borders free from unsightly dying petals (especially under rose bushes, which can lead to black spot). It also helps prevent plants from wasting energy creating seed heads which may be unwanted. Having said that, many roses produce attractive hips from flowers left on the bush – our native dog rose (rosa canina, a scrambling rose with delicate pink flowers) has hips in winter which provide a good autumn/winter food source for birds. It’s not to be confused with the bright pink Japanese rose, rosa rugosa, which can become invasive and overpower native species of plants.
Other roses that produce attractive rose hips include rosa helena, rosa nitida and rosa hans.

Stay on top
Left alone, some plants will produce self-seeded offspring all around the garden, and while in most cases this is good for wildlife, it’s worth mentioning that some can be a nuisance in the wrong place. These pest plants would include buddleia Davidii, (butterfly bush) which will spread prolifically if left unchecked, red valerian and alchemilla (Lady’s Mantle) – while very pretty in any garden, it can be a problematic invader as its rhizomes grow and spread underground.
Buddleia flower on new season’s growth, so I cut the plant back hard in early spring (late March) and then let it grow back: it will flower well and attract many butterflies. It is clearly a favoured nectar source. I then cut off the spent flowers before they set seed, which keeps the plant under control.
Be sure to use liquid feed on all hanging baskets and potted plants, encouraging new growth through the rest of summer. Feeding will also help revive tired displays.

A little forward planning
Divide any clumps of bearded iris this month for an even better display next year, and take cuttings of patio and container plants ready for next summer.
July’s a good time to sow biennials such as foxgloves, sweet William, wallflowers, honesty and forget-me-nots, ready to plant out in autumn for a stunning display next spring. Sow into large seed trays or a dedicated seed bed, then separate seedlings when large enough to handle.
Avoid pruning those straggling hedges until the end of August at the earliest. The main breeding time for garden birds is between March and August, so leaving the hedges gives them time to rear their young in peace.

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Barry Cuff takes a look at what’s what, as the allotment seems to be bursting at the seams

We are now half way through our 35th year on the allotment – and it’s been a year of unusual weather! Very high rainfall, few frosts but chilly nights. Despite this, most crops are doing well. All our vegetables are raised from seed, bought mostly from Kings, Fothergills, Unwins and Thompson & Morgan, and all are started in plug trays, small pots or seed trays.
Beetroot – first roots were pulled mid month. More sown in May and June (we selected Moulin Rouge and Perfect Three).
Broccoli – Claret and Rudolph will be planted out during July.
Brussels Sprout – these were planted out in May and are looking well (Brendan).
Broad bean – The Witkiem Manita have finished and we are now picking Masterpiece Green Longpod. Blackfly just starting to appear on these!
Cabbage – Red Drumhead are looking well and have put on a lot of growth in the last few weeks. All our brassicas are well protected from hungry pigeons by a net.
Calabrese – Planted out this month (Ironman). This variety will produce a good central head followed by smaller side shoots.
Carrot – We only grow one variety (Early Nantes) and sow part-lines every two to three weeks. We have just harvested a few from the first sowing.
Cauliflower – Planted out (Cheesy, White Step and Cendis). In plug trays for planting out later we have Medallion and Snow March.
Celeriac – Planted out from plugs mid month and currently looking well. A new variety to us (Neon).
Celery – Planted out in a block (Golden Self Blanching) at the same time as the celeriac. Both of these are watered every day,
Chicory – Our usual Witloof were sown direct early in the month and thinned a few days ago.
Courgette – two varieties growing (Defender and Astia), and both have flowers.
Dwarf French bean – two varieties picked this year, Safari and a Fothergills variety which is new to us, Nautica. Both are growing well. We still have a few packs of last year’s Safari in the freezer!
Fruit – We’ve had a bumper crop of strawberries, though the currants are variable. The Autumn raspberries are now starting to flower.

Gherkin – About ten plants growing against wire for support.
Leek – growing Musselburgh in pots. These will be planted out in July after the first potatoes.
Lettuce – Only one variety this year (Little Gem). Sown each month in plug trays and planted out when large enough. We normally have lettuce from March until October.
Mangetout – Sown direct against wire, two varieties and both look well. They were sown at different times to give a longer harvesting period (Carouby De Maussane and Purple Magnolia). Surrounded by glitter strips to deter pigeons.
Onion – On the whole these look well but a few are going down with white rot – we live with this disease as there is no cure. Despite rotation, we usually expect to lose about 10 per cent.
Parsnip – It’s probably our most successful year for establishment. They have now been thinned to one or two plants per station.
Peas – These are not so good: we have lost a lot of seedlings to the pea and bean weevil, possibly due to the mild and wet winter and spring allowing the larvae to survive.
Potatoes – These are doing exceptionally well, and we are digging Jazzy (salad) and Maris Bard (new) as required. Still in store from 2023 we have a supply of Picasso which are making good chips!
Radish – We sow frequently for a continuous supply.

Runner beans – Have now reached the top of the canes and are starting to flower – two varieties (Moonlight and Scarlet Emperor).
Squash – Two varieties sown this year – Crown Prince and Butterfly – and when planted out they made a slow start, but are now looking fine. Sweetcorn – About 70 plants (Swift) and all are looking well after a slow start.
Sweet peppers – All looking well and flowering in the greenhouse.
Tomatoes – All flowering well in the greenhouse.
Weeds – We are hand weeding and hoeing most days. Our worst weeds are Bindweed, Gallant Soldiers, Sow Thistle, Fat Hen and Goosefoot. We do allow a few of our ‘special’ weeds to survive – Weasel Snout, Thornapple and Moth Mullein.

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