Gardening tips for Summer

• Regular trimming

  Your garden will be growing at a fast rate during the Summer and you will find you will need to maintain the shape of your hedges andshrubs more than in other months. Be careful not to prune anything back too hard in the Summer months as it may struggle to recover.

• Check your reticulation

  It’s a good idea to make sure your reticulation is operating optimally, as any reticulation issues could cause the death of plants very quickly in the warmer months.

• Top dressing your lawn

  Anytime during the growing season is a good time for topdressing your lawn. It’s a good idea to core and detatch your lawn prior to spreading any top dressing. Also, be careful to work the top dressing in well between the blades of grass just enough so that the blades of grass stick out the top (Dont completely smother your lawn). Ideally spread to a depth of 1-1.5cm throughout. Areas that need building up you can apply top dressing thicker if you are also applying lawn seed to the sunken areas. You can even buy bags of Turf builder for this purpose which contain the lawn seed within.

• Summer pruning

  Some plants ideally need pruning twice a year.

  There is a Winter prune - this is a hard prune to rejuvenate the plants and allow for healthy new growth.

  Then there is a Summer prune - this is moreso for reducing the overall height of the plant as they have a tendancy to grow vigorously in the summer time up towards the overhead sun. It is not a hard prune. It is mainly for the prupose of height reduction and to shape densely growing plants to allow more sunlight in.

  Some plants that like a light summer prune are roses, Wisterias, and Hibiscus. These are just some plants, to name only a few, that appreciate a judicious Summer prune.

• Plant some annuals

  Anytime from spring through to mid summer is a great time for planting annuals such as Petunias and Marigolds. They will bring colour to your garden and if planting Marigolds among roses or a herb garden they make for great companion plants as they deter pests such as Aphids.