Down Garden Services

JULY

ST. SWITHIN'S DAY, IF THOU DOST RAIN, FOR FORTY DAYS IT WILL REMAIN
ST. SWITHIN'S DAY, IF THOU BE FAIR, FOR FORTY DAYS 'TWILL RAIN NAE MAIR.
(July 14th)
More weather folklore

"Where but in a garden do summer hours pass so quickly?" - Anon

Flower of the month - LARKSPUR

Check potato crops daily for signs of Blight which usually appears during warm moist spells. If Blight attacks remove all of the top growth to ground level and burn it or dump it far away. If you have indulged in the current trend for grasses then you will have discovered that they either grow in clumps or creep around. The former produce lots of seeds which germinate all over the place, especially Carex pendula which casts seed that remain viable for years. The latter behave like Couchgrass and invade the surrounding flower bed. If you haven't got a prairie to grow them in, dig around the creepers regularly to remove the rhizomes and remove the seed heads of the clumpers as they ripen. To make grass cutting more 'low maintenance' (a contradiction in terms), remove all the awkward corners and form beds around groups of shrubs and trees, using smaller shrubs, herbaceous plants or bulbs (or all three). Make the curves follow the track of the mower to reduce the manoeuvering when mowing. A mowing strip consisting of bricks or paving laid just below the level of grass to run the wheels of the mower on, is the ideal solution. And another thing, if you are short for time or the grass is very wet, just trimming the edges will tidy up and postpone the need to cut the grass for a few days. I tend to work until dusk on warm dry evenings, but I'm attacked by midges. Branded insect repellants are usually based on Citronella Oil, so a less expensive option is to ask for the prue oil at the chemist. Dab it sparingly on exposed skin. An alternative is to use what's growing in the garden. Many plants with aromatic foliage can be crushed and rubbed on the skin. After all, nature has seen fit to give the plant this defense mechanism so why not use it to our advantage and stop the midges from sucking our sap! I use Artemisia 'Powis Castle'- simply pick a few leaves, roll them into a ball and rub them on exposed skin, and in the hair. You need to repeat a few times during your stay in the midge-zone. If you have sensitive skin use caution in what you try. Mint works as well. Houttuynia has a strong citrus smell so could be another canditate, perhaps this could justify it's existence after all! Recently research has been carried out with tomato plant extracts against mosquitoes and it is proving positive, so put the excess shoots from cordon trained crops to good use - they do leave quite a lingering odour on the hands after handling. Continue the war against slugs. Remember your pets if you're keeping pellets, 12 dogs died in 1998 after eating spilled or badly stored packets. If scattered sparingly on the soil they are relatively safe, but dogs being dogs will chew on anything so keep the container safely, as with all garden chemicals. The pellets work by stimulating copious flows of body fluids and rapid dehydration - nasty! Watch out for the second generation Cabbage White Butterflies which will be flitting about and depositing their eggs on your brassicas. Use fine mesh netting to protect the plants, ensuring it is held well above the leaves. Check gooseberry, red currant and white currant bushes for later generation sawfly larvae, which can be more devastating than the earlier ones. Dead-head roses and herbaceous plants to encourage continuous flowering. Just remove the dead flower of roses not the stem and leaves - there is a natural break in the stem a few cm below the faded flower. The experts now say this is the way to get the most blooms. Once all of the buds on a stem have faded, cut it back to suitable leaf joint where a new stem should develop. If you haven't already done so remove the developing seed heads on Rhododendrons, being careful not to damage the surrounding buds - look out for any which failed to open due to an attack of Bud Blast. When trimming the hedge try a bit of topiary, not an animal shape, but a natural flowing shape. I have trimmed a Lonicera nitida hedge in a series of overlapping hummocks resembling the drumlins that surround the garden. It blends with the countryside much better than a square shape, but would look just as good in an urban setting - or form squares and sloping angular shapes to reflect the nearby urban skyline. Pick courgettes when they reach about 15 cm, they taste much better and it encourages a continuous supply. The rhubarb is coming to the end of it's pulling season; allow some leaves to remain to build up the roots for next year. The leaves of most herbs are at their best now so can be dried for use later. Collect them on a dry day and dry in an oven at low temperature, perhaps when cooling after cooking something. When dry pick them off the stems, crush in a pestle and place in stoppered jars. Sow some more salad crops.

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