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Summer at last and the garden should be looking great and a visual treat for friends and family. Watering is number one priority, and daily attention is needed for pots, tubs and hanging baskets. In dry weather the lawn and flower borders will also need attention, but watch out for slugs that also like damp soil conditions. On the patio, ants are sure to be on the rampage.
Flower beds and borders
Annual bedding plants and recently planted perennials and shrubs will need regular watering during the summer as we are sure to get some hot, dry weather to add to the problems of low rainfall most of us experienced in May. Garden soils are not thoroughly moist and plant growth will suffer without supplementary watering.
The Government is advising that there could be a drought this summer and wise gardeners will be doing everything in their power to preserve moisture in the soil and water in store. Having a water butt or two to store rainwater is essential to supplement the water paid for from the mains tap, especially if you are growing ericaceous plants in tubs or in soil that isn't naturally acid.
You can store rainwater by interrupting the flow of roof downpipes and storing in a water butt. There are some nifty means of trapping the rainfall including Harcostar's Universal Raintrap that will fit many different diameter round pipes and a couple of square ones too. You can double your storage capacity with a second water butt and a simple Linking Kit (also from Harcostar) or a hose that connects two butts using the simple siphoning power of water to find a common level. Every gardener should be using natural rainwater to help keep plants watered during the summer, rather than using expensive tap water.
After you have thoroughly watered your plants, cover the soil surface with an organic mulch of Levington Mini Chipped Forest Bark, Levington Decorative Chipped Forest Bark or Levington Cocoa Shells. These clean and long-lasting materials will help to retain moisture in the soil by reducing surface evaporation and also help to suppress weeds. The cocoa shells also have a pleasant chocolate aroma that is attractive to chocolate lovers but is not a mulch that should be used where inquisitive dogs are running, as all parts of the chocolate plant, even these shells, are harmful to canines if eaten by them.
If watering your shrub border is getting a chore, think about replacing your existing plants with ones that will put up with hot dry conditions. Evergreen foliage shrubs that would do well at the back of the border include Eleagnus ebingei, Viburnum tinus and any of the holly family. For some red summer foliage Berberis 'Red Pillar' and the yellow foliage of Choisia 'Sundance' would provide splashes of colour among the evergreens. For the middle of the border consider hardy Fuchsia riccartonii, Potentilla 'Abbotswood White' and Spiraea japonica 'Fortunei'. Low shrubs for the front of the border could include any of the dwarf hebes, a gold or silver Eunonymus and some low growing perennials including any of the hardy geraniums, some white or pink Sedums and the flat heads of Achillea. Once established you will find all these plants tolerant of most conditions and do not require much input from humans to provide a pleasing show.
Holes in leaves and general shredding of foliage usually indicate that slugs or snails are on the warpath. The brave gardeners who prefer not to sprinkle a few SlugClear Advanced Pellets sparingly around their plants may be tempted to take direct action. For them the nightly vigil with a torch to find, pick up these slimy pests, and dispose of the bodies is the only way forward. If you are unhappy about sprinkling a few slug pellets around on the soil surface you can always use a liquid slug killer that is watered over and around vulnerable decorative plants. Because SlugClear is liquid there is no visible residue for pets to investigate and the only animals that suffer are the molluscs.
Don't let your flowers be overtaken by weed invasions. If you have the time and the energy pull them out regularly or hoe the area weekly, being careful not to damage the roots of wanted plants. Lazy gardeners, who are short of time, use the power of modern weedkillers to do the job effortlessly. First check your store of weedkillers and use up any sachets of Weedol that you may have in stock. The approval for this paraquat based weedkiller runs out next spring, so you have the rest of the year to use it up in the best possible way - giving you a clean weed-free garden. If you don't have any weedkiller in stock then you can buy a replacement product called Weedol 2 which is ideal for treating large areas economically. If you prefer ready to use products that are ready mixed then try the Weedol Gun!.
Timely tip
Keep spraying roses regularly with RoseClear 3 or RoseClear Gun! to maintain protection against mildew and blackspot diseases and to kill off any aphids that may be sucking the sap and distorting the growth of your precious plants. |
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ALWAYS READ THE LABEL. USE PESTICIDES SAFELY
Ant Stop!® contains chlorpyrifos. FungusClear™ and FungusClear Gun!™ contain penconazole. BugClear™ and BugClear Gun!™ contain bifenthrin. Nature's Answer® Natural Pest control contains pyrethrins. Roseclear® 3 contains bifenthrin and myclobutanil. Roseclear Gun!™ contains bifenthrin and flutriafol. SlugClear® and SlugClear® Advanced Pellets contain metaldehyde. Verdone® Extra contains fluroxpyr, clopyralid and MCPA. Weedol contains paraquat and diquat. Weedol® 2 and Weedol Gun!™ contain diquat.
® ™ Miracle-Gro, Osmocote and Levington are Trade Marks of The Scotts Company or its affiliates. |
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