Five Gardening Tips for Summer

For us here in the Northern Hemisphere, the Summer doesn’t officially start until the Summer Solstice, on June 21st. However, I think we have all noticed that it is getting warmer! With that in mind, we here at Oakleigh Manor like to gift you with a blog post or two that will help benefit you in the garden at certain times of the year. So, with this in mind, here are five basic gardening tips for the Summer, that will help you enjoy your external space throughout the warmer months, all the way through until the overwintering of certain plants occur.

Start afresh

I find it is always best to do this during the Spring, but to be honest, there is never a bad time to clearing away dead plants, debris and fallen leaves. This will make your garden look fresh, and should be the starting point for all gardeners. Also, clearing away the unsavoury elements will make a different immediately, not only to the eye, but also the potential health of the plants in your garden. This is because certain garden pests and diseases can thrive on dead plant material. This is a perfect jumping-off point for the second tip…

Be meticulous with those pests

It may seem an obvious one, but again, there is never a bad time to vigorously check your garden and your plants for certain pests and diseases that threaten the wellbeing. We recently completed a Garden Pests Series of blogs, where we explored 26 different threats to your garden plants – one for each letter of the alphabet – and you can see the entire blog by clicking on the link above. Therefore, it is still on our minds! Some garden pests and diseases can be very detrimental to your gardening efforts, so finding anything is paramount, as the sooner it is spotted, the sooner it can be treated with organic or biological control methods. This ensures your garden has the best chance to not only survive, but thrive.

Utilise plant pots

Potting plants can be of great benefit for the gardener, especially for those with small gardens, all without compromising on the look of your garden. Potting your plants enables for:

• Greater control – it is much easier to react to the climate, any shade and the typical adverse British weather
• Time-saving – less time is spent weeding, watering and the ilk
• Less pests – even if problems are detected, they can be isolated to prevent spreading to other plants
• Flexibility – plants can be easily rearranged to suit personal tastes and seasonal moods
• Accessibility – makes it much easier for children to enjoy gardening in the Summer!

Correct plant in the correct place in the correct garden

The importance of planting schemes cannot be underestimated. The primary function of a scheme may be to make the most of your garden from an aesthetic perspective, but do remember that there are a number of different factors to take into account, such as a plant’s sunlight requirements, the British weather, the type of soil you have, watering requirements, etc. If you have a garden that receives a lot of shade, for example, it is not the best idea to plant some perennials that need to basked in sunlight. The look of your garden is vitally important as well, but do not forget about the practicalities.

And finally…

Invest in houseplants

We cannot underestimate the British weather! Yes, it is getting warmer, but in the back of our minds we are all expecting it to turn wet and windy again! With that in mind, and the fact that they can provide a whole host of benefits to you and your home, buy some houseplants so you can enjoy your gardening indoors. This way, you don’t run the risk of being saturated in the Summer rain!

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Photo credit: <a href=”https://www.flickr.com/photos/duncanh1/14581510133/”>[Duncan]</a> / <a href=”http://foter.com/”>Foter</a> / <a href=”http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/”>CC BY</a>