It is mid July and the Roses have performed very well with an abundance of flower, scent and leaf growth. With the June flush over here are some quick tips to boost your Roses for the rest of the season.

Quick Rose Tips.

• Water your Roses with a couple of gallons at least once a week. Do not be tempted to spread it out a pint at a time, they prefer a good long drink.
• Mulch again after watering or rain
• Trim over hanging plants that are robbing your roses of sunlight. More sun will equal more flowers!
• You can give your plants a final Rose fertilizer boost. Do not leave it any later in the season as leggy and sappy growth from late fertilizer will do no one any good.
• Deadhead all repeat flowering roses (if in doubt deadhead all those not being grown for the hips).
• A summer tidy prune can help by trimming ungainly stems by 12-18″ to make the bush more shapely.
• Stop deadheading in September to get the roses to think about winter.

Check out Rose Tips for June

Planting a new container grown Rose

• Soak the container for 12 hours to give the rose chance to drink.
  
• Dig an over sized hole and add some bone meal and or root grow fungi.
• Plant the rose, teasing out the roots   and back fill with humus rich soil.
• Water and mulch and keep watering until autumn.

Schnapps is excellent – if you use the small stems from champagne rhubarb, even better..

It’s  super easy – fill a Kilner or similar a third full of chopped young pink rhubarb, add a couple of tablespoons of sugar and top up with vodka; leave 3 months or longer, giving it a good shake every so often.[A nice gift to give around crimbo time] I also make pies, yogurts crumbles.. etc.. and freeze some stalks for later in the year. This year I’m trying my hand at some rhubarb wine – more on that later!

When the stalks get older  it’s time for jam and chutney. Rhubarb and ginger is a good one.. For the past few weeks I’ve been pulling and freezing in readiness for some jam making

The time to stop pulling it is when the first gooseberries are ready, around  the end of  June/July, this is when the acid is beginning to concentrate in the plant, leaving it bitter and unpalatable.
I use the leaves too – boil them up in water, strain, and use as a spray against black fly on broad beans and nasturtiums. Of coarse, they’re put on my compost heap too.

If your in need of some inspiration for recipes – Look here The frozen yoghurt’s divine!

See… such a versatile plant!

Roses.

Beauty, dignity, fragrance and style. The rose is perhaps the Queen of flowers. A very rewarding plant to grow. Some of the modern cultivars have lost the beautiful old fragrance, but, the good news is that they are more disease tolerant. See: Tips on Growing roses

Sunflower

Simple, pure and fun. The sunflowers is a great flower for anyone to grow. It is hard to look at a sunflower and not be cheered a little. It is as if the sunflower is smiling at you. Tips on growing sunflowers here

Lupins. See: Growing Lupins

Sweet Peas:

Sweet peas come in many colours and offer a long flowering season, making a lovely cut flower. The fragrance helps the sweet pea to be one our most popular garden flowers.

See: Growing sweet peas

Pansy

Low growing, colourful pansies are one of the most common garden flowers because they can give such a long flowering season. One of the few annuals to flower even in the depths of winter. Great value, no wonder they are so popular!

Poppy

The humble poppy can grow amidst a mixed border. A simple unassuming plant which offers a great splash of colour.

Dahlia

Strong assuming plants which add bold colours and presence to any mixed border. A great range of colours and a flowering season to the first frosts is making this an increasingly popular plant.

Carnations. Pinks grown here to perfection.

Daffodil

Daffodils herald the start of the new gardening season. A great sight after the winter months. Easy to grow.

Tulip

Tulips

Second only to the daffodil in spring popularity. The tulip has one of the greatest range of colours of any plant.

See: Tips for growing tulips

Pelargonium

Often called geraniums, these regal pelargoniums are a wonderful plant. Protect from frost and waterlogging and they will flower throughout the summer.

See: Tips on growing pelargoniums

Lavender

A bed of lavender. See: Growing lavender

Lillies

Very popular due to their colour and fragrance

Iris

Iris

Growing Bearded iris

Lupin

• see: Lupin Growing

Delphiniums

See: Growing Delphiniums

Chrysanthemum

Related

• Common Garden pests
• Common Garden Problems

Begonias from tubers are a very rewarding plant. If protected from frost, they are a relative easy plant to grow. They can remain relatively pest free and provide a long flowering season.

You can start plants as early in February in a heated greenhouse or indoors on windowsill. The best temperature is 18-22 degrees. They will start growing at lower temperatures but their growth will be slower.

Keep moist, but, not standing in water or overly damp as this can lead to rot and mildew problems.

Plant the top of the tuber just below the soil surface. If some tuber is showing no harm.

Which is the top of a Tuber?

You should be able to see where last year’s growth has been cut off. It is the convex side (dish shaped). You may also see the first buds for new shoots.

When the first shoots appear, make sure the plant is rotated if on a windowsill to get a well rounded plant.

The begonias can grow quickly and so might outgrow their first 3 inch pot. Pot on to five or seven inch pots, before they are ready to be hardened off and planted outside.

Staking Begonias

Some upright begonias will need staking to tie in the leaves.

Growing Begonias Outside

Begonias will do well in most sunny spots. Ideally they prefer a bit of shade from mid day sun. However, if this is not possible, just keep well watered during dry spells. For best flowering displays, use a high potash (tomato) liquid feed. If fed, watered and dead headed they can offer a very long flowering season.

Storing Begonias

When foliage starts to yellow and die back in October, cut of foliage, lift from ground and dry in newspaper. Sprinkle some anti rot powder on the tuber and make sure they are stored in a dry, frost free environment. It is worth checking every month or so for any sign of rot. As soon as you spot a tuber with signs of rotting. Discard in refuse bin.

Related

• Tuberous Begonias
• Begonia Floral Show
  
  
• Begonias at Thompson & Morgan
• Tuberous Begonia at BBC

Fresh lettuce from the garden is well worth cultivating. It can be a quick crop, ideal for a small garden. Planted in neat rows, it can also be an attractive veg, especially if you try growing different leaf coloured varieties.

Sowing Lettuce Seed.

Lettuce can be sown from late Feb to June. Though obviously, in Feb will need careful protection. Germination takes 7-12 days. It needs a moist warm environment. However, beware that if the temperature is too hot (over 21 degrees) germination may be patchy.

Sow relatively thinly, lettuce seedlings dislike being transplanted so when thinning out, just discard the excess plants.

For growing full lettuce, sow 30cm apart. However, for salad ‘cut and come’ varieties, you can sow closer and keep cutting leaves to get a second crop.

Important Tips for Growing Lettuce

• Lettuce need to be kept well watered.
• They dislike hot dry sunny weather. In these conditions, like many vegetables they will bolt and run to seed.
• For best crops, ensure the soil is fertile with plenty of organic matter. Lettuce is better when it can grow quickly.
• For longest cropping season, sow at two week intervals. This ensures a steady supply of lettuce.
• During hot season, try growing in the shadier part of your vegetable garden.
• If you have a small garden, lettuce will do well in growing bags, as long as they are sufficiently watered.
• For early plants, sow under glass and harden off before planting outside.
• When sowing indoors and planting outside, take care to give as little disturbance to roots as possible. This can act as a check on growth. Try using disposable pots which can be planted straight outside.
• Using a horticultural fleece can keep away aphids and reduce the direct rays of the sun.
• Keep weeds at bay, but avoid damaging plant with hoe.

Pests and Diseases for Growing Lettuce.

The main enemies of Lettuce are slugs and snails and greenfly. You will need to protect lettuce against these crops. Bear in mind commercial lettuce will be sprayed several times during the growing season. If you have to spray once or twice, it is still much less chemical than lettuce from the supermarket.

In addition if the weather is cold and damp, lettuce may be susceptible to downy mildew and grey mould. the best treatment here is to keep a sharp eye and destroy any infected leaves / plants. It is more of a problem with early season plants.

Best Varieties of Lettuce

Looseleaf Varieties

• Salad Bowl
• Lollo Rossa

these are perhaps best varieties they can be cropping leaves six or seven weeks after sowing.

• Crisphead Varieties
• Wndermere
• Avoncrisp
• Lakeland
• All The Year Round
• Tom Thumb
• Winter Crop

Related

• Tips for Growing Lettuce

Foxgloves are one of my favourite flowers, I’m not sure, why. They just are. Certainly their height is great in a mixed border. They can also have a long flowering season, especially if dead headed.

A wonderful alba variety.

Always worth remembering – Foxgloves can be highly poisonous so be careful near children.

Another great feature of foxgloves is that they do well, even in heavy shade. So well worth growing in shady spots.

For more tips on growing foxgloves

Foxgloves attract bees and are rich in nectar

A close up of a Foxglove flower.

A light purple variety.

A yellow foxglove: see: Yellow Foxgloves

Foxglove Plants Online

• Foxgloves at Thompson & Morgan

Related

• Shade tolerant plants

Lovely purple of ornamental Alliums. Make great cut flowers and attract the bees.

A selection of plants in flower during early season in Oxford and Yorkshire, England

Bulb Iris. A lovely shade of white and yellow

Glorious Red Poppy. Striking in any border (poppies from seed)

An early flowering coneflower

Purple Iris

A majestic Iris

Yellow Iris

Californian Poppy

Aquilegia

Early flowering rose

Popular June Flowers for Weddings

• Allium
• Antirrhinum
• Asters
• Carnation (pinks)
• Cornflowers
• Daisies – various varieties
• Delphiniums – great effect tall and majestic
• Euphorbia – not most exciting plant but provide great choice of greens to act as foil for more daring plants.
• Freesia
• Gardenia
• Gerberas
• Gypsophila – one of our favourite – great masses of white flowers
• Iris
• Lavender
• Lilies
• Mimosa
• Nigella
• Peonies
• Rose (early flowering)
• Sweet pea (best for scent)
• Sweet williams

Related

• Top 10 Flower Photos

A simple one colour Petunia gives a good effect.

The typical plants seen in hanging baskets include Lobelia, Petunia, Begonia, Marigolds, Fuchsias and Pelagoniums. The F1 varieties of these plants have a long flowering season making them ideal for summer hanging baskets.

Obviously in any hanging basket, trailing plants add an extra interest. For example a variegated ivy helps to offset and provide a balance to the more colourful varieties.

Plants for the Spring / Autumn Hanging Basket

Try Primulas, Violas, pansies, miniature conifers, ornamental cabbage and cyclamen. All can offer a good season of winter colour at a time when it is most appreciated.

Looking For something Different?

If you look outside any pub, you will likely see a riot of colour in hanging baskets. However, you don’t have to follow the prevailing fashions. Try a simple one or two colour design. For example, just try choosing white varieties and interesting green shades of leaves.

Traditionally hanging baskets get stuffed with as many plants as you can fit. But, you could try making a feature from a spot plant like a trailing fuchsia or concentrate on trailing compact sweet peas.

Varieties recommended by BBC

• Lobelia ‘Fountain Mixture Trailing’ – red, pink, white and mauve flowers
• Dichondra ‘Silver Falls’ – trailing foliage plant with silver leaves
• Sweet pea ‘Pink Cupid’ – fragrant pink flowers on compact plants
• Petunia ‘Purple Velvet’ – rich purple flowers appear on long stems
• Begonia ‘Chanson Pink’ – long stems with blousy pink blooms

Related

• Tips for Hanging Baskets
• Hanging Baskets at Amazon
• Hanging Baskets at Thompson & Morgan

A wonderful variety of colour from a mixture of hardy annuals and hardy perennials.

Sowing seeds is great fun. The good news is that there are different types of seeds that can be grown at different periods of the year. Apart from October – December there is probably some seeds that you can be sown under protection of gentle heat. This could be a sample seed sowing season

January – February.

This is time for early season crops like lettuce and spinach. They will need heat and cloche protection to grow. But, vegetables like Spinach may do better in colder times because they are less likely to grow from seed. Later crops may bolt in the heat of summer. February is also a good time for slow growing annuals like Datura.

However, if you do sow in February, growth will invariably be slower because of the lower light levels. Seed grown early, will need more care and time, but, can reward the patient garden with early season flowers and vegetables.

March / April.

This is the peak season for sowing hardy annuals and also half hardy annuals. Seeds grown in April will soon catch up with earlier grown seeds. Half hardy annuals can be sown in March but will need to be kept under glass for two months before risk of frost has passed. Some hardy annuals like Sweet Peas are worth sowing early as they are less likely to be affected by powdery Mildew.

May and June.

May and early June is the last chance to sow annuals  of fruit and veg. Some good veg include Runner Beans which have a short and dramatic growing season. Even in late June, Runner Beans can be cropping by the end of summer. Good flowers to sow late include Sunflowers.

For more delicate veg like cucumbers and peppers, May is good time to sow for a late season crop.

June / July.

June or July is a good time to start thinking about bi-annuals like Foxgloves, Wallflowers, Sweet Williams, Penstemons e.t.c Sown in June or July, the plant will get established before winter, ready to spring into action the following spring / summer.

August / September.

For an early hardy annual crop, you can try sowing some plants in late summer. They will offer an early flowering season. It is a good technique if you have some spare land, you want to cover. e.g. Daisy, and Tagetes. You can also sow a green manure for covering bare soil over winter. – A good way to protect against soil erosion and weeds.

• Seed Selection at T&M

Related

• Tips for Growing from Seed
• Sunflowers from Seed
• Seed Tips
• Best seed companies