In an odd year for weather, July seemed to promise that a hot high summer is on the way (at least at the time of writing). So, first and foremost use the summer to enjoy your outdoor spaces. Whether entertaining or simply sitting and watching the world go by, make the most of it. From our bench we can smell lavenders and roses, watch the bird feeder and admire our high summer colour with Dahlias, Cosmos, Penstemons and Gaura all in bloom.

Back Garden Bench Aug 2020

However, there are plenty of things to keep you occupied if you choose. You could summer prune Wisteria – trim off the whippy new shoots, cutting back to 7 buds (approximately) from the main stem to encourage flower buds for next season. Once the bees have finished Lavender and Hebes can be lightly trimmed to keep them tidy. Take off the spent flower heads plus a little bit of the new wood. This helps to keep the shrub to shape and helps to encourage bushy growth for next season’s flower stalks.  Do avoid cutting into older wood on Lavender as they will struggle to rejuvenate from that.

The wet weather of early summer this year means that grass probably still needs regular cutting , but if the weather is dry raise the blades of the mower a little to reduce stress on your lawn.

Rambling roses only flower once. Now that they have finished, prune them back to tidy up the framework (many ramblers are extremely vigorous and will soon get out of hand). Some ramblers have beautiful hips, so let these develop for autumn colour and wildlife food.

In the kitchen garden, the main job is to keep picking and eating. Courgettes, beans, and salad leaves will all benefit from regular cropping. In the greenhouse peppers and aubergines are starting to fruit and tomatoes should be cropping heavily by now.

Rosa Bianca Aubergine Aug 2020

Aubergines Aug 2020

Tomatoes 5 Aug 2018

If you are lucky enough to have too much produce to eat it all fresh, preserving helps to extend the eating window. Some produce is ideal for simple freezing (e.g. beans), but others like tomatoes can be cooked and frozen to give a taste of summer in the dark winter months.