Gardening tips

Flowers

To encourage new blooms, regularly deadhead bedding and perennial plants for as long as possible.
Prune wisteria by removing the whippy side-shoots from the main branch framework to about 20cm from their base (about five leaves from the main stem).
Encourage new flowers and foliage by cutting back growth in hanging baskets. Don’t forget to feed your baskets well after doing this.
Autumn-flowering bulbs such as autumn crocuses, Colchicum, Sternbergia, Amaryllis and Nerine can be planted now.

Harvest garlic when the tops yellow and start to bend over.
This month, harvest beetroot, peas, carrots, chard, potatoes, salad leaves, lettuce, and tomatoes.
Pick courgettes before they turn into marrows.

Cut off any leaves growing on the lowest ripening fruit trusses to improve air circulation and prevent diseases. Pinch out tomato side shoots each week.
Create new plants for next year by pegging down runners on your strawberry plants. If you don’t need more plants, remove the strawberry runners entirely.
Prune your stone fruit trees like plum, apricot, peach and cherry in summer to reduce the risk of silver leaf disease.
Prune the fruited stems of blackcurrant bushes after harvesting.
Water raspberries generously in hot, dry weather.
Feed citrus fruit trees with a special citrus fertiliser throughout summer.

Pinch off any affected growing tips to tackle blackfly on broad beans.
Squash any cabbage white butterfly eggs found under brassica leaves.
Clear weeds regularly.
Determine which pest control is needed by hanging sticky traps in the greenhouse to catch flying pests.
Protect ladybirds, hoverflies and lacewings, which feast on greenfly and blackfly.

Use a spray attachment on the hose to aerate the water and help the fish while topping up ponds and water features if necessary.
Leave pumps on during warmer nights as oxygen levels are lower in such conditions.
Add upright marginal plants such as water iris if your pond lacks suitable plants for the fully developed larvae of damselflies and dragonflies to emerge from the water.

Reduce stress on the grass by setting your mower blades higher.
Encourage healthy green growth by feeding your lawn with a special lawn fertiliser.
Water newly seeded or turfed lawns in hot weather and don’t allow them to dry out.

Leaving your plants unattended while you go on holiday? Keep them hydrated with this simple self-watering technique: Cut a piece of twine and position one end in a bucket of water and the other in the soil. Ensure that the bucket is placed above the plants so that water can trickle down through gravity.