What's New

Removing large branches.

Storing pelargoniums, dahlias and chrysanthemums for the winter.

Our plant photograph database is starting to take shape.

• Gather seeds of alliums, poppies, aquilegias and salvias. Label and lay out to dry before storing.
• Sweetcorn should be ripe enough to harvest. Pick when they are a pale creamy colour. However corn on the cob deteriorates quickly, so it should be used as soon as possible after picking.
• Take cuttings of tender perennials and shrubs: salvias, penstemon, lavender and rosemary.
• Make sure that ponds are topped up, if you need to top up your pond check the PH and nitrogen levels of the water afterwards.
• Spring flowering bulbs should be available in your local garden centre. Plan where you are going to plant them and buy accordingly, it's great fun filling up those brown bags with bulbs, but can be expensive.
  If you have a small garden, or are planting bulbs in pots, think about using smaller varieties of bulbs.
  Plant bulbs of one variety together for effect.
• Lift marrows, pumpkins and squashes off the ground in order to keep them clean and reduce slug damage.
• If your tomato plants have been affected by blight, clear the plants and burn them, adding them to the compost heap will not kill the spores.
• Feed houseplants with liquid seaweed or a general fertilizer.
• Wild flowers only need to be cut down once a year. Now is the ideal time.
• Grass will need less frequent mowing in prolonged dry weather. If very dry, remove the grass collecting box and let the cuttings stay on the ground to conserve soil moisture.
• Continue to collect and store seeds from plants, for sowing next year. Store any collected seed in paper envelopes or bags, then put them in an air-tight container.
• Tie tomato stems to canes or stakes to prevent the weight of the fruit breaking the plant.
• Propagate hibiscus, lavender and rhododendron plants by taking semi-ripe cuttings.
• Collect and dispose of wind-fall fruit. Leaving them on the ground encourages pests and can damage your lawn.
• Propagate celamatis, honeysuckle and wisteria plants by layering.
• Prepare the garden now if you are going on holiday. Water all shrubs well, including roses and climbers, then lay 2-3in thick mulch on top of the soil around their roots to keep the roots cool.
• If the your grass has grown long while you have been on holiday, give it a cut with the blade set quite high and then lower a few days later, this reduces the chance of the grass going into shock and allowing weeds to get established
• If you are going on holiday either get a neighbour to water your house plants, hanging baskets and patio planters, alternatively put all of your plants including house plants on the patio or lawn, put the lawn sprinkler between them and connect the hose to an outside tap using a water timer (set the timer to come on twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening - 10 minutes each time should be sufficient). Test the settings before you go away.
• Feed tomato plants fornightly with a liquid fertiliser (this must be diluted in water to prevent burning the plants)
• Pond fish will eat more in the summer, feed them little and often, once or twice a day. If the food has not been eaten within 15 minutes, remove and dispose of the excess.
• Move houseplants outside for some summer sunshine.
• Ensure that soil in hanging baskets and patio planters is kept moist. Remove fading and dead flower heads from plants, this will encourage new flowers. Feed hanging baskets and planters weekly with liquid fertiliser if a slow release fertiliser was not added when planting the basket.
• Continually nip out side shoots from upright tomato plants. These reduce the amount of food available to fruit baring branches. Nip out the growing tip after the plant has produced 4-5 fruiting trusses.
• Cut grass weekly, long grass takes more nutrients out of the soil. It is also harder to cut and may leave yellow patches in the lawn.
• Lift, divide and replant chives.
• Take blackcurrant cuttings. Cutting should be 10' long - the size of a pencil. Plant upright in a 'V' shaped trench with sharp sand in the bottom, then back fill with soil.