Get the best from perennials

MANY perennial plants, herbaceous and evergreen, can benefit from some attention now.

Plants such as Lupin, Delphinium, Verbascum, Hosta, to name but a few, will be flowering freely at this stage and to ensure you continue to get the best from them, get the secateurs out and start cleaning up now.

Remove dead or nearly dead flower stems unless you are planning to collect seed, in which case leave them on the plant until the seeds have ripened.

Remove diseased or damaged leaves and reduce the height of stems which have already flowered as this will encourage more bushy growth from lower down and hopefully more flowering stems which will give you value right up to the first frosts in late autumn.

Several of the Herbaceous Geraniums, (Cranesbills), will have flowered by now. Varieties such as Johnsons Blue, Wargrave Pink and Mrs Kendall Clark will be finished or finishing by now.

Grab the leaves and flower stems in one hand and cut down to nearly ground level. It may seem a bit severe but the plant will immediately start producing new green shoots and, depending on the variety, will also produce a second flush of flowers.

nThere is no better time to visit the gardens in Blarney Castle than on Jul 13. A summer garden fair in aid of the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind will feature specialist nurseries from all around Ireland and talks from Adam Whitbourn, Kitty Scully, Carmen Cronin and Ciaran Burke in the marquee.

The Irish Guide Dogs will also have a display along with Arts and Crafts stalls, interactive demonstrations, including wood turning, basket weaving and a workshop from Cork Textiles Network.

And if the Farmer’s Market and Hog roast don’t fill you up then there is, of course, full catering in the Blarney Castle café. All enquiries should be sent to [e-mail]