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The Season of Summer, why is it so important ?
Summer is a vital time in the gardening calendar, offering ideal conditions for plants to flourish. With longer days, warmer temperatures, and plenty of sunlight, flowers bloom in full colour, fruits and vegetables ripen, and lawns grow more vigorously. Itβs the season when outdoor spaces are at their most vibrant, requiring regular care but also providing the greatest rewards. Summer also invites creativity, whether through experimenting with new planting combinations or enhancing garden layouts for relaxation and entertaining. The energy and beauty of the season make it the perfect time to truly enjoy and invest in the garden.
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Summer is the season when gardens truly come to life, bursting with colour, scent, and energy. Itβs the perfect time to showcase the very best of what the garden has to offer, whether youβre planting new varieties, refreshing containers, or simply enjoying the view. Hereβs a look at whatβs in bloom right now and thriving in UK gardens during the summer months
Roses
Care Tip: Prune lightly after the first flush to encourage repeat flowering. Water at the base to prevent disease.
Companion Planting: Pair with lavender or catmint (Nepeta) to deter aphids and add soft contrast.
Lavender
Care Tip: Needs full sun and well-drained soil; avoid overwatering. Trim back after flowering to keep shape.
Companion Planting: Combines beautifully with roses, salvia, and thyme for a Mediterranean feel.
Geranium (Cranesbill)
Care Tip: Deadhead regularly to extend flowering. Tolerates a range of soils and partial shade.
Companion Planting: Good with ferns, hostas, and hardy fuchsias for shady spots.
Foxgloves (Digitalis)
Care Tip: Prefers partial shade and moist, well-drained soil. Biennial, so plant new ones each year.
Companion Planting: Looks striking with ferns, aquilegia, and brunnera in woodland borders.
Delphiniums
Care Tip: Needs rich soil and full sun. Stake taller varieties and deadhead to encourage more blooms.
Companion Planting: Pair with roses, campanula, or lupins for a traditional cottage garden look.
Hydrangeas
Care Tip: Water deeply in dry weather. Avoid pruning hard unless shaping is needed.
Companion Planting: Try with hostas, ferns, or astilbe for shady, moisture-loving combos.
Coreopsis
Care Tip: Deadhead spent flowers to keep blooms going. Thrives in full sun and poorer soils.
Companion Planting: Great with echinacea, rudbeckia, or grasses for a naturalistic look
Rudbeckia (Black-eyed Susan)
Care Tip: Tolerates drought once established. Deadhead to prolong flowering into early autumn.
Companion Planting: Works well with sedum, asters, and coreopsis for late-summer impact.
Sweet Peas
Care Tip: Pick daily to encourage continuous blooming. Needs support and rich, moist soil.
Companion Planting: Mix with nasturtiums, runner beans, or climbing roses for vertical interest.
Dahlias
Care Tip: Feed regularly and deadhead to keep flowers coming. Lift tubers in autumn or mulch heavily.
Companion Planting: Stunning with zinnias, salvias, and cosmos in bold, colourful displays.
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To ensure your plants flourish throughout the summer months in the UK, itβs important to provide the right care. Here are some essential tips for maintaining a healthy, vibrant garden:
Β Β Β Watering
In summer, especially during dry spells, plants need plenty of water. Water deeply at the base of the plants, ideally in the early morning or evening to prevent evaporation. Avoid overhead watering, which can promote disease. Be mindful of the weatherβoverwatering can be as harmful as underwatering.
Β Β Feeding
Regular feeding helps plants grow strong and healthy. Use a balanced, slow-release fertiliser or organic compost to ensure a steady supply of nutrients. For flowering plants, consider a high-potassium fertiliser to encourage vibrant blooms. Follow manufacturer instructions to avoid overfeeding, which can damage plants.
Β Β Deadheading and Pruning
Regular deadheading of faded flowers encourages more blooms. For perennials like roses, cutting back spent flowers helps the plant focus energy on new growth. Pruning helps shape plants, remove dead or damaged growth, and improve air circulation, preventing disease.
Β Β Β Mulching
Mulch is essential for retaining moisture, reducing weeds, and insulating plant roots against temperature extremes. Organic mulches, such as bark or compost, also improve soil structure over time. Apply mulch in a 2-3 inch layer around the base of plants, being careful not to cover the stems.
Β Β Pest and Disease Control
Keep an eye out for pests such as aphids, slugs, and snails, which can cause damage to plants. Introduce natural predators like ladybugs or use organic treatments like neem oil. Ensure good air circulation to prevent fungal diseases, and remove any affected leaves immediately to prevent spread.
Β Support for Tall Plants
Many plants, especially those with heavy blooms like delphiniums or sweet peas, need support to avoid bending or breaking. Use stakes, cages, or twine to secure tall plants, ensuring they stand upright and are protected from wind.
Β Β Β Β Weeding
Weeding regularly ensures your plants arenβt competing for nutrients, water, and light. Itβs best to tackle weeds when theyβre small to prevent them from becoming established and spreading. Mulching also helps to suppress weed growth.
Β Β Container Care
For plants in containers, ensure they have good drainage and water them more frequently than those in the ground, as containers dry out faster. Feed them regularly with liquid fertiliser to replenish nutrients, as soil in pots can become depleted more quickly.
By following these simple care guidelines, your plants will not only survive but thrive, providing you with a beautiful, blooming garden all summer long.
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Summer is a rewarding time for growing vegetables, but it also brings challenges like heat, pests, and the need for consistent care. With the right attention, your vegetable garden can produce an abundance of fresh, healthy crops throughout the season. Here are some essential tips tailored to UK conditions
Watering Wisely
Vegetables need consistent moisture, especially during dry UK summer spells. Water early in the morning or late in the evening, and aim for the soilβnot the leavesβto prevent fungal diseases. Deep, infrequent watering encourages strong root systems. Raised beds and containers may need watering daily in hot weather.
Feeding Your Veg
Fast-growing vegetables like tomatoes, cucumbers, and courgettes benefit from regular feeding. Use an organic liquid feed or a high-potash fertiliser once a week to support fruiting crops. Leafy greens such as lettuce and spinach prefer a nitrogen-rich feed to encourage lush foliage.
Β Mulching to Conserve Moisture
Apply mulchβsuch as straw, grass clippings, or compostβaround your vegetables to retain moisture, suppress weeds, and regulate soil temperature. This is especially useful during hotter, drier periods.
Supporting Climbing and Tall Crops
Beans, peas, and tomatoes need support to grow upwards and stay healthy. Use canes, trellises, or netting to help them climb and keep fruit off the ground. Regularly tie in new growth and pinch out side shoots on tomatoes to encourage better cropping.
Pest and Disease Management
Keep an eye out for common summer pests like aphids, cabbage white caterpillars, and slugs. Use netting to protect crops from birds and butterflies, companion planting to deter pests (e.g. marigolds with tomatoes), and organic pest control methods where needed. Rotate crops annually to minimise soil-borne diseases.
Harvesting Regularly
Frequent harvesting encourages more growth and prevents crops from becoming overripe or woody. Pick beans, courgettes, and salads regularly to keep them productive. Harvest in the morning for best flavour and freshness.
Β Succession Sowing
To keep your garden producing all summer, sow new batches of quick-growing crops like lettuce, radishes, and spinach every few weeks. This ensures a steady supply and fills gaps left by harvested plants.
Weed Control
Weeds compete with vegetables for nutrients, light, and water. Regular hoeing or hand-pulling keeps them in check, especially around young seedlings. Mulching also reduces weed growth.
How to prepare your garden for Summer, your summer gardening checklist!
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Summer is the most active and rewarding time of year in the garden, but it also requires consistent care to keep everything looking its best. Whether youβre growing vibrant flowers, maintaining a lush lawn, or harvesting homegrown vegetables, a little routine maintenance goes a long way. Our Summer Garden Checklist is designed to help you stay on top of key tasksβfrom watering and feeding to deadheading and pest controlβso your outdoor space can thrive all season long. Use this guide as a go-to reminder for what needs doing and when, ensuring your garden stays healthy, colourful, and enjoyable right through to autumn.
Soil & Bed Preparation
Preparing your gardenβs soil for summer is essential for healthy growth. Start by removing any weeds, spent plants, or old mulch. For compacted soil, use a fork or hoe to break it up. Incorporate organic matter like compost or well-rotted manure to improve soil structure, enhance fertility, and boost moisture retention. For heavy clay soil, add horticultural grit to improve drainage, or for sandy soil, mix in compost to help retain moisture. Raised beds, which warm up quickly, are perfect for summer planting, providing better drainage and reducing soil compaction. If your beds are ready for summer planting, apply mulch to prevent weed growth and conserve moisture, particularly around trees and shurubs.
Planting for Summer Colour
Summer is the season to fill your garden with bold colour, and UK-native plants are a great choice for both beauty and sustainability. Consider incorporating perennial plants that thrive in the UK climate, such as Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus), Oxeye Daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare), and Poppy (Papaver rhoeas), which will attract pollinators and provide vibrant blooms. Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), known for its drought resistance, will offer both colour and fragrance. Hollyhocks (Alcea rosea) and Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) can add height and structure to your borders. For ground cover, Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia) and English Bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) thrive in woodland areas or shaded parts of your garden. In containers or hanging baskets, try Trailing Nasturtiums (Tropaeolum majus) for vibrant colour that also serves as a natural pest repellent.
Watering Strategies
With rising temperatures, watering efficiently is crucial. In the UK, summer rainfall is often sporadic, so ensuring plants are well-hydrated during dry spells is key. Water early in the morning or late in the evening to avoid evaporation during the hotter parts of the day. Water at the base of the plants, not on the leaves, to reduce the risk of fungal diseases. Waterbutts are a fantastic way to collect rainwater for sustainable watering, especially for plants like Wild Garlic (Allium ursinum) or Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris) that thrive in moist conditions. Mulch with bark, straw, or compost around plants to help retain moisture, particularly in dry periods. For containers and hanging baskets, use water-retaining granules in the compost to reduce the need for frequent watering.
Feeding & Fertillising
Summer is the time for plants to flourish, and feeding them regularly will keep them strong. Apply a slow-release fertiliser at the start of summer, especially for perennial flowers and shrubs. For vegetables like Tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) and Cucumbers (Cucumis sativus), a high-potash fertiliser will encourage flowering and fruiting. If youβre growing English Roses or Lavender, use a fertiliser tailored to their needsβroses benefit from a balanced feed, while lavender does better with a low-nitrogen option. Use liquid feeds to supplement nutrition during the growing season, but avoid overfeeding, as this can result in soft growth that attracts pests. Always water plants before and after feeding to prevent root burn.
Deadheading, Pruning & Tidying
For a neat, healthy garden, regular deadheading and pruning are essential. Remove spent flowers from perennials and annuals like Geraniums and Petunias to promote further blooms and prevent the plant from expending energy on seed production. With UK-native roses (such as Rosa rugosa), deadheading will encourage more flowers and better air circulation, reducing the risk of diseases like powdery mildew. After flowering, lightly prune early-blooming shrubs like Philadelphus and Spirea to maintain their shape and size, cutting back any damaged or diseased stems. Keep the garden tidy by removing any fallen leaves or debris, which can attract pests or promote disease. Compost healthy clippings and leaves to recycle nutrients back into your garden.
Lawn Care Routine
In summer, a well-maintained lawn is a beautiful backdrop for your vibrant plants. Mow regularly but raise the mower height during dry spells to avoid stressing the grass. In hot weather, lawns may go dormant, turning brown, but they typically recover once rainfall returns. Water lawns deeply, but less frequently, in the early morning or evening. For an eco-friendly lawn, use organic lawn fertilisers, or apply a seaweed-based liquid feed to keep the grass healthy. If there are patches of moss or weeds, treat them with organic or selective weed treatments, especially if youβre growing native grass species like Creeping Red Fescue (Festuca rubra), which naturally thrives in the UKβs climate.
Container & Hanging Basket Maintenance
As temperatures rise, containers and hanging baskets require extra attention to stay hydrated and vibrant. Water pots once or twice a day during hot spells, particularly for UK-friendly plants like Petunias (Petunia spp.), Fuchsias (Fuchsia spp.), and Begonias. Use compost enriched with water-retaining crystals to help maintain moisture levels. Feed with a liquid fertiliser once a week, but make sure to follow the instructions carefully to avoid nutrient build-up. Deadhead plants regularly to encourage new growth and rotate your pots to ensure all sides get equal sun exposure. If containers start to look tired halfway through the season, refresh them with new plants like Calibrachoa (Million Bells) or Trailing Verbena for continued summer colour.
Outdoor Living & Garden Styling
Summer is the time to enjoy your outdoor space. Refresh seating areas, sweep patios, and clear any weeds from decking or stone paths. Add decorative elements such as UK-made stone garden statues, hanging lanterns, or fairy lights to create a magical atmosphere for evening gatherings. Consider using sustainable materials for your garden furniture and decor, such as reclaimed wood or bamboo. Arrange containers and hanging baskets into themed groupings to enhance focal points, or use plants with architectural foliage like Hostas (Hosta spp.) and Ornamental Grasses (Miscanthus spp.) to add structure and texture.
Wildlife & Pollinator Support
Support local wildlife and biodiversity by planting UK-native plants that attract bees, butterflies, and birds. Lavender, Thyme, and Wildflowers like Cornflowers and Poppies provide nectar for bees and butterflies. Consider creating a wild patch with Clover (Trifolium repens) or Meadow Buttercups (Ranunculus acris) for pollinators to thrive. Keep birdbaths filled with fresh water and place shallow dishes around your garden for bees and other insects to drink. Leave small areas of long grass or undisturbed leaves to provide shelter for insects and small creatures. Install a bug hotel or wildlife pond to attract beneficial insects like ladybugs, which naturally control pests.
Some of what we have to offer !
