Your monthly gardening Guide ~ 5 jobs for July
If you’re new to the monthly gardening guide, a very warm welcome.
Each month, avid gardener, Jenny from @thelaundrygarden shares her top 5 gardening tips for the month.
If you missed last month’s blog, you can read it by clicking here.
Over to you Jenny…
As I look out of the window while typing this, admiring the greenness of the towering fennel, filtering the morning sunlight, I’m thinking “I can’t believe it’s midsummer now and there’s so much more in the garden to look forward to!”
Our visit to RHS Bridgewater was a very wet and wonderful one! However, it was worth the trip to see a newborn garden, the incredible amount of work and planting that has been done there.
We thoroughly enjoyed it despite getting soaked to the bone! If you are looking for a day trip out, I highly recommend it.
Here are my 5 jobs that you might like to be getting on with this month!
~ 1. Cut back un-mown grass to encourage a later season of wildflowers ~
This year I persuaded Tom not to cut the grass in the orchard, in order to encourage more insects and wildlife.
If you have left an un-mown area in your garden, July and August is a good time to chop it down back to 7cm and removing any bulk of material that has already bloomed.
By cutting it now will encourage a later season of wildflowers.
Here’s a great article to read a bit more about growing and maintaining wildflower meadows.
~ 2. Start planning for the Spring! ~
Believe it or not now is the time us gardeners start planning for the spring! It’s time to begin making lists of what bulbs we want to order now.
You’re going to think this is a crazy thing to do but by leaving it until September all the best and most popular bulbs have sold out!
So if you fell in love with a specific tulip or daffodil collection it’s worth getting your order in now, I promise!
Here are some of my favourite online companies to buy bulbs from
https://www.peternyssen.com/autumn-planting/collections-autumn-planting.html
https://www.sarahraven.com/bulbs/flower-bulb-collections
https://www.farmergracy.co.uk/collections/gracy-s-flower-bulb-collections
~ 3. Draft in a neighbour/family/friend if you go away ~
If you’re heading off somewhere for more than a week and don’t want to come home to a garden dried to a crisp, it’s definitely worth booking a neighbour or willing family/friend to check in a couple of times.
If you have specific things that need tending to like strawberries that need harvesting or sweet peas that need regular picking these can be offered as a nice way of a little thank you.
OR
If this isn’t possible or you want to make their lives a little easier, try and move as many plants into a shady corner. By doing this you are lessening their chances of drying out in the scorching sun and also making it easier to water.
There are also some great inexpensive irrigation systems that are easy to install and will save you time in the long run too!
~ 4. Cut back and divide bearded Irises ~
Now is a good time to cut back and divide bearded Irises.
Ours put on a wonderful show last month and are ready to be cut back and divided.
This job should be done every 3-5 years. This is because the root of the plant, called a rhizome (that’s quite fleshy and looks a bit like a very big piece of ginger root!) becomes big and congested. They tend to lose their vigor and subsequently produce fewer flowers.
Click on this link for a very helpful video and tips from the RHS on how to divide them successfully.
~ 5. Wisterias – cut back any whippy growth ~
If you are blessed with a beautiful wisteria, between now and August is the ideal time to cut back any whippy growth.
By doing this now you will help prevent this very vigorous climber from getting out of control. It also helps prevent it from becoming congested, stops it from twining into nearby plants and keeps it out of gutters!
Using a sharp pair of secateurs, cut away the new growth back to 5-6 leaves. To read more about pruning wisteria click here
~ THIS MONTH’S BOOK RECOMMENDATION ~
Book ~ Wildlife Gardening: For everyone and Everything. (The Wildlife trusts) By Kate Bradbury
~ THIS MONTH’S INSTAGRAM PROFILE TO FOLLOW ~
Instagram ~ @pollyanna_wilkinson
Another fantastic list of super helpful tips from Jenny there! Huge thanks to Jenny.
If you’re reading this as a beginner gardener you may find this blog (also written by the lovely, Jenny) really helpful ~ 5 quick gardening tips for beginners.
Within the 3 acres of land that Jenny and her husband Tom, care for, they have also built The Laundry Retreat.
The retreat consists of 2 luxury roundhouses that have been specifically designed just for adults. Offering a wonderfully romantic setting, in a beautiful rural location.
Here are some exclusive photos of the newest roundhouse that is now available to book!
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