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Thirty ninth edition - July 2004
There have been several articles in my daily newspaper
recently about the latest gardening trends. It seems we no longer fill our
garden spaces with lawns and flowers, but prefer instead to cover them in
decking, patio heaters, barbecues and furniture. Have a look around the DIY
stores and garden centres to see how true this is. It must be assumed then
that it is a financially lucrative trend for the manufacturers, much the
same as replacing all our carpets with laminated flooring. Very soon carpets
and green lawns will be `back in` and huge bonfires will rage across the
land when folk burn their wooden floors and decking.
Me? I never follow trends anyway, so have nothing to lose..
Jobs for the
month - July
July is a lazy month for gardeners if they so wish,
with easy jobs to do, such as dead-heading flowers, watering and weeding.
All your house plants can stay outside for a few weeks for a breath of fresh
air and a misting with tepid water...
Houseplants
Look for aphid damage, red spider mite, mealy bug and
any other unwanted visitors, and spray immediately. Don`t forget to make
provision for your houseplants if you are going away. There are several
types of capillary matting in the garden centres that you can stand the
plants on, or even soaked newspaper in a bucket. Failing all else, put your
well watered houseplants in the coolest room in the house and draw the
curtains or blinds and they will easily cope for a couple of weeks
Bulbs.
Lift and dry off any tulip bulbs still in the borders
or tubs, and you can order now for Autumn planting from your early bulb
catalogues. Last season I bought some miniature tulips to dot around the
tubs. They were an absolute delight as you can see here.
Lawns
New lawns turfed or sown in the spring may now have a
dose of weak weedkiller. Keep the cutter blades of your lawn mower set to
medium in a dry spell, because if you cut the lawn too short it will soon go
brown and look unsightly.
Greenhouse
Make sure that any plants in the greenhouse have
adequate ventilation and are shaded from too much sun. Maintain humidity to
avoid red spider mite by damping down with the hosepipe. Shade cucumbers
from hot sun.
Hedges
Continue spraying rose hedges this month against black
spot, mildew and aphids. You can still trim other types of hedge if they are
growing quickly.
 Fruit
You will still need to watch out for nasty little bugs
in fruit bushes and trees and eliminate them with an appropriate spray. This
is a time of year to begin pruning and training some young fruit trees. You
should consult a gardening book for this procedure
Flowers for cutting
Train sweet peas up their supports. Keep cutting
flowers for the house and at the same time dead-head any faded blooms to
encourage new flowers. Spray against aphids and stake any flowers
that are getting tall.
Herbaceous plants
Feed plants fortnightly now. I use Miracle-Gro with
the dispenser that attaches to the hose pipe so everything in the garden
gets fed...and watch out for aphids on your plants. Keep the borders weed
free and mulched.
Ponds and water features
This is fish-spawning time so take care that your pond
is not starved of oxygen. If you have tadpoles which by now have developed
their legs, try to keep them apart from your fish, for they will eat them.
Provide a ramp for the tadpoles to leave the pond when the time comes. If
you want to really help the tiny frogs then spray the flower beds or grass
where they will be living with water for a few days if the weather is hot...
Wildlife
 Our hedgehogs are back from their winter hibernation
and doing a good job of eating insects. The Pipistrelle bats that fly around
at dusk are busy as usual, and young fledgling birds are running the
gauntlet with next doors cat. I found a huge egg (over 8 inches in
circumference) that I assume a fox had buried in a ceramic flower pot on our
patio, which was a mystery as we have a huge range of flower borders in
which to bury a hoard. You can see the egg here in the half planted up pot..
RHS FLOWER SHOWS 2004
The third largest flower show in the UK, Tatton is an annual feast for
keen
gardeners as well as those who simply enjoy the spectacle of stunning garden
designs and plant displays.
Around 50 gardens will showcase the very best design talent working in spaces large and
small. More than 90 of the UK`s leading nurseries and growers will provide further
inspiration with exhibits in the floral marquees. Visitors will have a chance to buy
the very latest plants, flowers, gardening accessories and ornaments from the nation`s
top growers and specialist suppliers around the showground.
Charity
Gala Preview of the
Hampton Court Palace Flower Show |
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5 July 2004 |
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Hampton
Court Palace Flower Show |
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6 - 11 July 2004 |
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RHS Flower Show at Tatton Park |
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21 - 25 July 2004 |
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Malvern
Autumn Garden & Country Show |
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25 - 26 September 2004 |
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Wisley Shows |
:
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April, June and August |
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RHS London Flower
Shows |
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Regularly |
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RHS Fruit Conference |
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6 October 2004 |
http://www.rhs.org.uk/events/shows.asp
Laterlife is pleased to support the project below:-
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http://www.sensory-garden.com
Designed
to stimulate the senses and provide a haven of peace, a place to chill-out and unwind from
the stress of modern living. A garden designed specifically to be "Positive About
Disabled People" and raise funds for people with Multiple Sclerosis.
Take a
virtual trip around the garden, through different countries, its monthly photo galleries
& artwork, explore and discover the plants, birds and wildlife, water features and
wind-chimes, as we endeavour to describe the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touch of
the various areas.
We hope you enjoy your visit to the Sensory
Garden Project
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And some places to visit...
www.edenproject.com 
The
living theatre of plants and people
The Eden Project is a gateway into the world of plants and people. A meeting place for
all to discover how we depend on plants and how we can help to manage and conserve them
for our mutual survival.
Kew Gardens two locations:-
http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/
Tel: 020 8332 5655 (24 hr)
Fax: 020 8332 5197Royal Botanic Gardens
Kew
Richmond
Surrey
TW9 3AB |
Tel: 01444 894066 (24 hr)
Fax: 01444 894069 Royal Botanic Gardens
Wakehurst Place
Ardingly
Nr Haywards Heath
West Sussex
RH17 6TN |
The National Botanic Gardens of Scotland comprise:
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Scotland's Premier Garden
Benmore Botanic
Garden, Argyll
Argyll's Magnificent Mountainside Garden
Dawyck Botanic
Garden, Borders
Wonderful Woodland Garden
Logan Botanic
Garden, Galloway
Scotland's Most Exotic Garden
 The National Botanic Garden of Wales
www.gardenofwales.org.uk
The star attraction here is the 91 metre long domed glasshouse, that
houses landscapes normally found in the Mediterranean. This would be a super place to
visit on a chilly day...
Keep the e-mails with
your gardening problems coming
Have a look at previous
editions of Gardener`s Diary
Some websites of interest to gardeners:-
www.alantitchmarsh.co.uk
Alan Titchmarsh MBE, TV gardener, writer, broadcaster and thoroughly nice person.
Just a few choice words to describe him. See his
website....
 Thompson and Morgan:
A growing
resource for gardeners worldwide. The site includes the international online seed
catalogues, the young plants catalogue (UK only), the wholesale seeds catalogue, together
with the award winning Germination Times and a host of other useful information.
www.carryongardening.co.uk
 Gardening is an important part of many people's lives. You don't have to
give up gardening because of accident or illness, the onset of disability or the problems
associated with growing older. The information on their website is designed to provide you
with the information to Carry on Gardening.
Carry on
Gardening was initiated by the horticultural charity Thrive
and is funded by the National Lottery Charities
Board. It brings together information on easy ways of gardening gathered over 23
years by Thrive and research carried out since the early 1970s by Mary Marlborough Centre,
Oxford, on tools and equipment for disabled and older people.
The founder
of www.maple-landscapes.com
is my eldest son.. give him a call if you live in the Leicester area of the UK and have
need of his services..
Good reading:-
"The Yellow Book" contains information of
all Gardens of England and Wales open for charity, and can be bought priced £5 from
National Gardens Scheme www.ngs.org.uk
National Trust Gardens Handbook is £6.99 and
the new edition is out in May Telephone 01394 389 950 or see their website
www.nationaltrust.org.uk
RHS Garden Finder is £12.99 from Dorling
Kindersley www.dk.com
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Gardener`s Diary is a regular feature of laterlife.com
run by Rosemary Martin. 
