July Gardening News
How mad this shrinking calendar! I remember clearly the conversation that I had with my Dad, the one when he told me that ‘the years would fly by’. He wasn’t wrong, this year the nursery is 70 and I have worked the site for almost 44 years. Is it really July already? Of course it is. It is the month of celebration, when we start to see the results of our labours. It’s the month of judging gardens too and I will be one of those, visiting a garden near you. It is a joyous thing to be part of the celebration hosted by nature and nurtured by community. The odd heavy downpours across the last month and the, at times tropical heat has really seen plant growth flourish. True the humidity has brought in one or two problems with plenty of mildew, black spot and other fungal delights, but providing reaction has been swift most have been manageable. Remember thinning foliage to allow air movement can help. Potato Blight is fungal, so you may want to consider preventative spraying if you have had it in the past. On the vegetable and flower front generally things look good, though the jury is still out on the fruit. I have had plums barely form and now, immature they are dropping to the floor. It will be interesting to see, some apples aren’t looking great either. The dry weather went on just a few days too long and setting fruit has been poorly serviced. The high winds in June brought some damage with some plants, especially the architectural or those supported by canes taking a real thump. I’ve been doing a bit of light pruning to reduce some top heavy or over grown material and have staked some perennials. Pruning needs to be thoughtful and light, to avoid vigorous recovery, but if the winds do return you will see benefits. Incredibly we are on the cusp of the wallflower season and these and other biennials like Sweet William will come quickly from seed. If you have a bit of shelter, sow them straight in the ground and thin them at the start of September. Wallflowers do so well direct sown and are just not as readily available as plants as they once were. Try Siberian wallflowers too, the whole family are great value. And finally, keep watching, watering, picking, feeding and enjoying. Happy Gardening. Chris Evans www.dundrynurseries.co.uk www.thebutterflygarden.org
July Gardening News
And still the breeze continues. The last month has been fair and planting has continued throughout, but so has the watering, indeed it has been essential to the settling of every new plant. The breeze has been so drying. Our pond dried out in the middle of the month. As we move forward there is a hope for settled days, but that watering will probably need to continue. The dry weather planting has resulted in poor rooting so many plants will need help. Just keep moving the water away from the base of your plants to encourage them to search. Constant watering will also leach away the nutrients, so a bit of supplementary feed will be worth the trouble. A balanced liquid will be ideal, avoid loads of Nitrogen (N on the back of the bottle). Keep it modest, you are not looking to create a jungle. Do keep picking too, all of our plants give huge energy to seed production, so dead heading will make for an extended season and food harvesting will encourage more produce. If you have a bit of sheltered space, there is still some worth in continuing to sow salad stuff and you are not too late to sprinkle in a line of Wallflowers. With some thinning out in a month, you can get some cracking plants for over wintering. Although it is a long journey, Wallflowers are worth the trouble and they have been magnificent this year. You are going to see a few autumn flowering wallflowers about this year. They are quite interesting, but a bit puny, the jury is still out. Within days we shall be back to the Winter Pansy season and then the bulbs will be in. The Pansy market has changed and our industry does seem to be launching ever more varieties. Be aware that some are tougher than others and if in doubt ask about the variety and if it over winters well. If you find any, you can still put out Spring Cabbage plants and late Savoys. Keep a watch on the pest and disease issues, Pigeons have been a pain again and there is a bit of mildew around. If you have roses (aren’t they great this year ?), it is worth giving them a splash with a fungicide. And finally enjoy. However the space looking, take it from me it is still pretty special. Pristine or full of weeds, immaculate or chewed to nothing it still remains a celebration of nature and our attempts at taming. Happy Gardening. Chris Evans www.dundrynurseries.co.uk www.thebutterflygarden.org