Gardeners’ World – July 2023

After a very dry month, at last a drop of rain, although we need more. Some plants have done well and the roses have been spectacular with more flowers than usual, although they haven’t lasted long in the heat. So lots of dead heading, cutting back to a leaf bud, not just snapping off the head, hopefully we will get a second flowering. With the dry, hot weather varieties prone to black spot have suffered, especially climbers like Iceberg, as there hasn’t been the air flow around them and some have lost their leaves. Nothing suitable to spray them with but if you water and feed them, they will come into leaf again.

Take out the side shoots from your tomato plants (except the bush varieties) to keep the plant under control and help put its energy into producing fruit. Feed weekly with a high potash fertiliser.

Delphiniums have almost finished flowering so cut them down to the ground, give them a good water and feed with Fish, Blood and Bone or a liquid fertiliser. Later in the year, you will get a second flowering. This also applies to oriental poppies.

A garden well worth visiting at the moment is Mount Grace Priory by the A19, redesigned by Chris Beardshaw.