Your Garden This Summer

July and August are traditionally the holiday months but plants in the garden do not take a holiday! As the weather  gets hotter plants start to dry up. Plants growing in the ground can often fend for themselves in short, dry spells and moisture retention can be helped by putting down mulches. Pots, tubs, troughs and hanging baskets are prone to drying out and do need to be regularly watered  but the addition of granules such as SwellGel to composts will help to retain water for longer. The greenhouse will need to be provided with efficient shading, either by using plastic sheeting or by using paint-on liquids such as CoolGlass. Do check that automatic ventilators are working correctly. The use of a fan heater set to cold will help to keep the greenhouse atmosphere cooler. Young seedlings will need careful watering and tomato plants must be watered very regularly to make sure that Blossom End Rot does not set in.
In the vegetable garden, regular watering is necessary for runner beans, marrows and courgettes. Weeds need water to grow as well, so regular hoeing and hand weeding will free up more moisture in the soil for the plants that matter. In July, seeds of wallflowers can be sown and so, too, can myosotis (Forget-me-not) and many perennials.
August is probably the best month for taking hardwood cuttings. Successions of salad crops can be sown in the vegetable garden. Container-grown plants can be planted at any time so it is always a good idea to have a look at the garden centre from to time to get ideas. Spring-flowering bulbs will soon be on sale now, but it is really too early to plant them out in the garden. Prepared bulbs for early flowering in bowls can go in from the end of August.
Coming up in September will be the last flower show of the year in Chipperfield so it is now time to make preparations for this event. However, Chipperfield Horticultural Society now has a crisis as the number of committee members has dwindled and it is becoming extremely difficult for so few people to organise these shows. Has anyone a few hours to spare to join the committee to help the future of such a valuable local asset to become secure?
The Hampton Court Palace Flower Show is from July 4-9 (tickets 0870 842 2238) and the RHS Flower Show at Tatton Park is from July 19-23 (tickets 0870 906 3738). Chenies Manor have their Plant and Garden Fair on July 16. Here in Chipperfield the St Paul's Flower Festival is from July 15-17. There are many local gardens open to the public this summer and a visit to these will certainly inspire and provide ideas galore. Gardens open for charity include Waterdell House, Croxley Green, and North Mymms Park, Welham Green, on July 2; Stresa, The Drive, Rickmansworth, on July 16; Callipers Hall, Chipperfield, on July 23; Hunton Park, Hunton Bridge, on August 6 and 20; The Barn, Stoney Lane, Bovingdon, on August 20; and the Abbots House, Abbots Langley, on August 27. Further afield at Datchworth, ten village gardens are open on July 9, with a Scarecrow Festival as well.
Terry Simmonds