The longest day of the year falls this month so

make the most of the light, balmy evenings in

your garden

Feature and photos

Louise Midgley

In your garden

this month...

what to do in the flower garden

Spruce up the entrance to your home

by dressing it with a selection of stylishly

planted containers and hanging baskets

(left). Invest in either seasonal plants which

will need replacing in autumn or choose

hardy specimens that can be left until their

roots outgrow the container space.

With extra daylight hours, plants will be

having an energetic spurt of growth,

so keep a ball of string and scissors handy

to tie in new shoots of tall perennials and

climbers. Dahlias need their elongated

stems supported onto sturdy stakes; if left

untethered they are prone to breaking off

on windy days.

Cover the ends of bamboo canes to

avoid any accidents when you bend

over in the border (above right). You don’t

need to invest in expensive cane toppers,

instead use old discarded snail shells, reuse

corks from wine bottles or pop a small

terracotta plant pot on the end.

Ti e in the new growth of clematis (above

left), sweet peas and annual climbers;

keeping them upright and off the ground will

prevent slugs feasting on their new shoots.

Ke ep an eye on the level of water in your

pond and top it up if hot weather causes

extreme evaporation. Rain water is best if you

have any stored in water butts, as tap water

is high in nitrates. Remove blanket weed and

duckweed from ponds if they are covering the

surface and leave for a few days by the side of

the water to allow any wildlife to decamp.

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Photo courtesy of Dobbies