August Newsletter

In the garden there are definite signs of spring just around the corner. When spring arrives I suffer badly from a lack of discipline. A simple visit to the clothes line can digress to pulling a weed, trimming a wayward piece of lavender or even quickly transplanting a few plants in the greenhouse. It is really uncanny the way time creeps up on you in the garden and in an instant our roast with all the trimmings has changed to a quick bbq and salad as the non gardener walks in the door.

Snowdrops have had the garden to themselves spreading their pretty white skirts in the first rays of spring sunshine. The first snowdrops to flower in my garden are a hardy group that pop out from under a clipped hedge along our driveway. The ability of this clump to multiply and flower every season is incredible considering those pampered ‘indispensable spring carpeting snowdrops’ [the catalogue said so] that I planted in the ‘right’ spot which simply sit in the same space with no sign of any offspring. Look out for pots of snowdrops in flower at Nichols during spring.

New seasons trees and shrubs have arrived in our garden centres and you will have to be super quick to select your trees before they sell out. Now that the fancy dress of summer has been clipped and swept away there is a chance to view the exposed bones of the garden. What part do trees play in your garden?

 A garden without trees can seem quite uninteresting. Often they are never noticed and yet their role is so vital. They are always changing with the seasons developing so much their own character in the garden. Sometimes we keep a tree far too long simply because it has always been there and it is an ugly looking thing until a big wind causes such a mess that it is out with the old tree and in with a new tree.

The size of the trees you choose for your garden depends on the space available. Small trees are better suited to city gardens and will develop as much personality as a big tree. Slow growers can take a while to make up their mind to become trees but they have great character and will need no pruning at all.

There are hundreds of small colourful foliage shrubs arriving as well as flowering shrubs that will keep your garden bright and cheerful through all the seasons. Try using bright colours in the foreground and softer grey greens or silver foliage planted towards the back to give the impression of greater distance in a small garden.

We have a wonderful stock of Camellias. They have such handsome dark green glossy foliage throughout the year and in spring provide us with a delightful array of flowers in a wide choice of colours. They display a profusion of pink white and red formal single or informal double flowers in sun or shade. Camellias may be grown as a specimen shrub or a handsome evergreen hedge. Some varieties lend themselves to being espaliered on a wall.

Fruit trees, especially garden favourites such as apples and pears, are attractive enough not be banished to the back corner of the garden. They provide wonderful displays of spring blossom and summer fruit and what could be nicer than the sweet blossom plus the fruit close to the patio or ideally beside a path. One of the great joys of fruit trees at home is a fresh apple. In my garden space is at a premium so I have simply espaliered apples and pears on walls and archways where we can enjoy spring blossom, fruit and the lovely autumn leaves as an important part of the garden structure.

Now is the time to start protecting your fruit trees against leaf curl, black spot and mildews. The best way to beat these nasties is a regular spray program with Copper. The most important spray is at bud form and again two weeks later. Don’t spray the trees in full blossom when the bees are visiting but resume spraying two weeks after flowering.

Hydrangeas may be pruned now. Weak and spindly shoots should be completely cut out and the strong new ones that have not flowered yet shortened back. However if the plant is left to its own devices it will make a huge shrub and still flower profusely. Hydrangeas do best in part sun or shade with very little attention and their gorgeous blooms look stunning all summer and autumn.

In the flower garden choose a warm spot and plant some Sweet Peas. Dig in plenty of compost and a sprinkle of lime before planting then after planting scatter some slug bait.

Divide and replant perennials such as phloxes, michaelmas daisies, delphiniums, penstemons and catmint. Trim catmint clumps well back to keep the plants compact.

In the vegetable garden, if the weather permits, the ground could be dug over and a little lime sprinkled over then  left to breath for two or three weeks. Never sow seeds in cold wet ground. We have Garlic and Shallots available now, growing in vegetable punnets all ready for you to transplant into a sunny site.

This is the time to tackle moss in our lawn with Nichols Lawncare. Spring is a good time to top dress lawns in order to maintain a good sole of grass. Nichols Lawncare will kill the moss and encourage the grasses to grow all in one application.