Work for the week
All in all, summer in the garden can be a busy time irrespective of what the weather brings. Of course the outstanding feature of summer gardening is that occupation can always be found there. The warmth and brightness that summer evenings bring means that pottering around becomes a pleasant occupation. No idle people are happy, but gardeners with mind and fingers busy, relax so easily that their cares are soon forgotten.
CATMINT: Catmint is flopping all over the borders. Nepeta ‘Six Hills Giant’ has been particularly prone to damage recently, no doubt due to the extraordinary weather conditions of late. Cats too, it seems, like to loll about in its scented shoots causing untold damage in the process. In fertile soils, this June wonder grows tall and naturally tends to open up in the middle, especially following rain. One way to stop this is to cut it back by half with shears in April just before it starts to go into serious flowering mode.
By doing this you will encourage it to make more side-shoots (also new growth from the base) all of which will be more dense and less floppy. It does however delay flowering by up to three weeks.
FORGET-ME-NOTS: These have been removed from the long border by the barrow-load and in the process the faded flower spikes were shaken to disperse the fine seed held within them. These will germinate directly on top of the soil so that by next spring, the autumn planted tulips will once again find themselves knee deep in blue spring blooms.
SOOTY MOULD: If you spot a black, sooty layer on the leaves of shrubs look for small, oval, cushion-scale insects and their white cotton-wool-like egg clusters. Commonly affected plants include camellia, holly, Euonymus japonicas, trachelospermum, rhododendrons and other evergreen shrubs. Wipe the egg clusters with a cloth soaked in any type of spirits. Clear the adults by applying Provado Vine Weevil Killer to the root system.
GERANIUMS: Don’t forget to stake geraniums (Cranesbill) otherwise they’ll flop badly in any summer gales that might arrive unannounced. These really need a few bamboo canes stuck in irregularly through the clumps.
PERNICIOUS WEEDS: Weeds such as bindweed can be treated now with a glyphosate-based weedkiller because they are all in full active growth. The chemical travels down to kill the roots but becomes harmless once it touches the soil. It is non-selective, however, and liable to damage any plant it comes in contact with. When using any weedkiller, follow the instructions on the packet to the letter.
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