OUT IN THE GARDEN

• Water regularly, especially pots and roses.                                                                                      
• Use mulch on bare soil spots to conserve the moisture and suppress weeds.                                                                                       
• Plant a pot or two of red & white annuals for Christmas colour at the front door, or grab a couple of our instant Colour Bowls.
• Plant lettuces regularly as the lettuce supply will take a hammering over Christmas.

 

Got ants in your pots etc?  No Ants which is the easy-to-use and effective solution.

Roses - keep an eye out for mildew and aphids and spray regularly with a selection of the following recommendations: Mavrik, the new systemic Groventive, Yates Fungus Fighter, Enspray 99, Super Shield, Organic Super Sulphur, Combat 3-in-1. 

Talk to Tracey in the Plant Health Dept for expert advice. 

Organic Super Sulphur is particularly good on rust and it’s safe for edibles (garlic can get rust from too much damp so avoid overhead watering and water only at the base if possible).  

Feeding roses is important to keep healthy new growth coming up – they love Dave’s Growth Pellets (southern humates and sheep pellets), and OceanFert Granular Seaweed Fertiliser – add Nitrophoska for the potash content to stimulate the flowering – I mix these three 1/3, 1/3, 1/3.

Give spent rose stems a good summer prune (down to a bract of five outward-facing leaves) to encourage strong new growth and more flowers in double quick time. (The growth lower down is always stronger than that at the top).                   

See the pic above and the blue circle shows where to cut – 25mm approx. above that little new shoot that’s emerging.

Birds love Berries!   Trusty bird netting takes care of the problem – a few stakes above the plants with netting draped over for easy peeling back and picking. 

Problems with the tiny worms in raspberries? 

Spray with Yates Success which is fine for edibles – just avoid spraying when in flower because of the bees.

Watering pots - thorough watering into the pot itself is vital, not just a splash on the leaves, which runs off and doesn’t get to the roots.

 

Here are the ‘before & after’ pics of the home lawn after my ‘scorched earth policy’ treatment.  Thank you for the concerned enquiries as to whether we still even had a lawn left.  A lush green lawn has a great cooling effect on everything so if you haven’t fed the lawn for a while then a feed now, plus water, will enhance the colour and we have a Lawnboy for hire if you have a lawn weed problem.

Looking ahead – now is the time to get Brussels Sprouts planted as they need plenty of time to get good tall stalks covered in the sprouts – the secret is to pick them young while they’re sweet and tender.

We have them in stock.

 

 

PS    Wedding Bells! If it’s Wedding Time for you, here are a few pointers to having a Great Wedding Garden, and easily.

Don’t let ‘garden stress’ spoil what should be a fun party for everyone.

Guests are there to have a good time, not to pick over the garden looking for weeds. Memories of the garden will be blurred by the bubbly anyway.                   

• Green lawns, trimmed edges/hedges and you’re half-way there. Feed the lawn six weeks prior, and water deeply if there’s no rain around.    Final mow three days before the wedding.
• Focal points of massed colour create the ‘Wow!’ Factor.  Large tubs of a single colour are the most eye-catching.  The scale changes with large numbers of people so large tubs have more impact.
• Roses really set the scene - “How can I have the perfect roses just at the right time?” is our most asked pre-wedding question. Watering is essential - trickling a hose steadily at the base is the most effective. Feeding six weeks in advance promotes fresh new clean growth, and the period from pruning to flowering is around six weeks. Regular spraying stops pests and diseases - if you need any advice on roses just ring or call in.

• Flower beds can easily be a riot of colour with summer annuals – choose a colour scheme and remember larger numbers of less varieties will have maximum impact. Rows of geraniums in terracotta pots are simple and effective. Weddings can be a once-in-a-lifetime event – enjoy the fun!

 

Hydrangeas! These are total winners at this time of year with their easy-care, free-flowering habit which continues right through until Autumn, when the flowers can be dried for Winter floral work.

White varieties love light shade (the flowers will burn out in full sun) while the colours will take light shade or sun, although some shade during the day is preferable.

To maintain the colour on blue varieties use Aluminium Sulphate (Hydrangea Blueing Tonic) or feed with Acid Plant Food to increase the soil acidity, which is what turns pink into blue or maintains blue.