\u201cThe arrival of July heralds the climax of the year in the garden. The rain may perhaps be pattering down in wholesome showers, and the trees and shrubs swaying backwards and forwards beneath the onslaught of half-a-gale. But we gardeners are not distressed thereat. We are, indeed, a selfish race, for while we sometimes deride the discomfort of our fellows, we rejoice with light hearts as we watch the thirsty soil drink up and absorb the warm rain as it descends in generous abundance.\u201d : from \u201cThe Week-End Gardener\u201d, F. Hadfield Farthing, published 1914.
\nI like dipping into old gardening books and seeing how much has changed (not a lot) in the world of horticulture. The book quoted above is arranged as \u2018things to do\u2019 for each weekend of the year and those words introduce the chapter entitled \u2018July : The First Week-End\u2019.
\nI find it interesting that in the evocative year it was published, written by a newspaper columnist, it was already common for gardeners to only have time to pursue their hobby at week-ends. Earlier gardening books were mostly written for the \u2018leisured classes\u2019 so the concept of actually gardening oneself, rather than employing a gardener, was anathema.
\nAs I write this we\u2019ve been having a somewhat dry spell, actually the summer has been pretty decent so far (hope I haven\u2019t jinxed it!), but rain is forecast which will be very welcome\u2014hence I echo the sentiment expressed by \u2018F. Hadfield Farthing\u2019. If we get the rain then I\u2019ve got a whole load of jobs that need doing, mostly transplanting in the vegetable garden, which are just much more risky if the soil is very dry and the weather too sunny.
\nAlso, now that we are past the longest day there is a subtle change in the flowering palette in the garden. Some plants are coaxed into flower production by the turnaround in length of the day compared to the length of the night. Traditional high summer herbaceous borders reach their absolute peak, although these days the addition of spring flowering plants and late season perennials means that herbaceous and mixed borders need not be so \u2018peaky\u2019. Back in 1914 I note that the chapter continues with the \u2018Culture of the Delphinium\u2019; \u201cA perennial border without the larkspur is unthinkable.\u201d
\nIt may be \u2018unthinkable\u2019 but, sadly, the garden where I work now is just too windy to allow for stately delphiniums in the border. They require very careful staking \/ pea-sticking at the best of times but, no matter how well staked they are, their brittle stems and fragile foliage would be no match for the battering they\u2019d receive here. There\u2019s nothing more disheartening than to wake up one morning to discover that your prized larkspurs have been smashed to smithereens by an overnight gale. If we planted a thick shelter belt of trees around the whole garden, blocking out the fabulous views, and waited maybe another century for it to grow up then, maybe then, we could plant some delphiniums!
\nJuly is a good time to shear back any early flowering border perennials to reinvigorate the plants and to remove some of the leafy \u2018weight\u2019. For plants such as Alchemilla mollis this \u2018haircut\u2019 pays real dividends as the new foliage is the epitome of \u2018fresh\u2019. Removing the spent flowers, before the seed ripens, prevents excessive self-seeding which can be a curse, rather than a blessing, with \u2018Lady\u2019s Mantle\u2019.
\nEarly flowering shrubs can also have the oldest, flowered, stems removed to keep the balance between old and new material. Annually removing about a third of the total number of stems keeps Deutzia, Weigela, Philadelphus and their ilk on their toes and covered in flowers.
\nWhilst generally sprucing things up don\u2019t forget the hedges. Yew can wait until August but most other hedging plants will be looking pretty shaggy by now, even if they were trimmed in late winter, so shearing or hedge-trimming these will immediately \u2018sharpen up\u2019 the garden. Don\u2019t trim hedges which have nesting birds in them\u2014these will have to wait.
\nLarge-leaved plants, such as Portuguese Laurel, will look ragged and untidy if cut with powered hedge-trimmers. If you\u2019ve got all the time in the world then removing each errant stem, cutting above a leaf, with secateurs leaves every remaining leaf intact. A good compromise is to employ a sharp pair of hand shears which will result in cleanly cut leaves rather than a tattered edge.
\nOther maintenance worth keeping up is the feeding and watering of summer bedding, or any other plants, in containers. Together with dead-heading and weeding this will extract the maximum return from your plants and plants are, just like time, money.
\nI will repeat the old mantra that it\u2019s wasteful to water lawns even in the driest spell. Save watering for newly planted areas and plants which need a moist soil in order to survive. Grass is designed to cope with prolonged drought and soon turns green again when the inevitable rain returns. Letting it grow a little longer in dry weather reduces the stress on it and helps it to cope better with drought.
\nReturning to our friend \u2018F. Hadfield Farthing\u2019, he ends the chapter with \u2018Biennials and Perennials from Seed\u2019. Here is something which has changed in the intervening century. Not many gardeners these days grow their own bedding plants, let alone perennials, when they are so widely available from garden centres and D-I-Y stores for not too much money. Also they require a nursery bed, a luxury in today\u2019s smaller gardens, and plenty of time\u2014not something a lot of people have any more.
\nHaving said that, raising your own plants, propagating in general, is at the heart of what being a gardener is all about. If you aspire to be a \u2018gardener\u2019, and not someone who just \u2018dresses\u2019 a garden space, then sowing something like \u2018Sweet William\u2019 now, to flower next year, would be a great place to start. Good luck \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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