July & August Gardens

One of the fun parts of writing for Vivi each
new issue is knowing that by the time this
is read, lots of the things that I want to write
about, or desperately want to know the answer
to, will have happened in all their summer
glory, and I am not talking about gardening! By
the time this is read, we could be in, we could
be out, we could have won the Euros, Andy
Murray could be Wimbledon Champ again, the
Olympics will have been a huge success - or
they might not happen - the Queen and Prince
Philip will have reached fantastic birthday
milestones (I hope....) and, more
importantly, we are at a crucial
stage in negotiating for a new
site for the Garden Centre,
which I hope to know the
result of by July, but I
will not be announcing
anything here, just in
case! Watch this space,
or rather watch our
website, and ignore the
jungle drums!

Hopefully we will be having long hot summer
days! Ideal weather for spending time in the
garden, but not necessarily the ideal time
to work in the garden. Summer months are
often the most rewarding times in the garden,
but a reasonable amount of time maintaining
your gardens will help to prevent your plants
running out of steam in the hot, dry summer
months.

Watering is key to keeping the garden looking
fresh, I have previously extolled the merits
of using an irrigation system, so no
need for that again. But do
harvest as much rainwater
as possible, it is good for
the environment, but also
good for a range of acid
loving or ‘ericaceous’
plants. We have very
‘hard’ water in this
area, which means it
contains a relatively
high level of limestone
and is why we get lime scale everywhere. Plants such as rhododendron,
azaleas, camellia and pieris, all prefer to have their
roots in acid soil or compost. Even if you plant
your beautiful plant in a container, with ericaceous
compost, watering with tap water will gradually raise
the pH of the compost due to the addition of hard
water. Rain water is more pure, and will therefore
help maintain the acidity in your compost.

Tomatoes and cucumbers grown in bags, pots or the
ground need attention to keep them fruiting. High
potassium feeds fed little and often will help to keep
the fruit in tip top condition. Tomatoes will also need
sideshooting to ensure all the energy is directed into
the fruit. This practice involves cutting out the shoots
that grow from between the leaf and the main stem;
these shoots usually grow vigorously and do not
produce good fruit, hence they need cutting out. This
practice is not usually necessary on the small fruited
bush varieties like Gardeners Delight. Cucumbers
need a similar feed to tomatoes, and make sure
that the tendrils that the plant uses to climb do not
wrap themselves around the fruit as they will distort
growth. For those crops grown in the greenhouse it is
essential to get as much ventilation as possible in the
summer; an ideal way to do this is to take out a couple
of panes of glass at the bottom to create a flow of air.

It is a good time of year to get houseplants such as
palm trees, citrus plants, orchids and wonderfully
scented plants like jasmine, gardenia and stephanotis
out of the house or conservatory and into the garden;
they will benefit from not being inside and it almost
gives them a chance to ‘rest’ before going back inside
again in the autumn.

Not Just A Garden Centre Finedon Road, Burton Latimer Northants, NN15 5QA

Only minutes from J10 off the A14 and midway between Kettering and Wellingborough

OPEN: Mon-Sat: 9am - 6pm Sun: 10am - 5pm • Disabled Access All Credit Cards Accepted 01536 722635 www.bosworthsgc.co.uk Visit our online shop: www.shop.bosworthsgc.co.uk www.facebook.com/BosworthsGC

LANDSCAPING All types of landscaping undertaken from Consultation to Design, Construction and Aftercare

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