Gardening tips

IN THE FLOWER GARDEN

• Put hanging baskets and pots & containers full of summer bedding in their final resting places.

• Continue to thin out drifts of hardy annuals if they’re overcrowded.

• Lift and divide overcrowded clumps of bulbs.

• Pinch out the tips of Fuchsias to encourage them to bush out.

• Start to pick sweet peas as soon as they flower.

• Dead-head roses as the flowers finish.

• Dead-head and cut back oriental poppies after flowering. Cutting them close to ground level will stimulate new foliage.

• Stake tall or floppy perennials to prevent wind damage.

• Tie in new shoots of climbers as they grow.

• At the end of the month cut back hardy geraniums if they have finished flowering to encourage new foliage and flowers.

IN THE FRUIT GARDEN

• Start to prune your plum or cherry trees now.

• Although fruit trees will naturally shed some fruit (known as the June drop) aim to thin out congested branches further for bigger and better fruits.

• Remember to feed fruiting plants grown in containers with a high potash liquid feed to keep them healthy and productive.

• Top dress patio dwarf fruit trees with fresh compost and a slow release fertiliser.

• Peg down runners on your strawberry plants to create more plants for next year. If you need more plants, simply remove the runners.

IN THE VEGETABLE GARDEN

• Continue to earth up potato plants as they grow.

• Pinch out any side shoots of tomato plants as they appear. Start to feed once the first truss is setting fruit.

• Harvest salad crops, and resow every 2 weeks for a constant supply of tasty leaves.

• Use collars when planting brassicas to prevent cabbage root fly attack.

• Harvest early potatoes – these are normally ready abut 10 weeks after planting.

• When the leaves of onions and garlic start to turn yellow and die back then they are ready to harvest.

• Protect crops from carrot root fly by covering with horticultural fleece.

LOOKING AFTER YOUR LAWN

• If the ground is very dry, raise your mower blades to reduce stress on the grass.

• Keep newly seeded or turfed lawns well-watered.

• Feed your lawn with a special lawn fertiliser to encourage healthy green growth.