KEY TASKS THIS MONTH

  • Make sure to take care of your hanging baskets, deheading them, and cutting them back! Also, remember to feed them!
  •  Use netting for your strawberries to prevent any damage or birds coming too near!
  • Make sure to take extra care of your houseplants with the warm weather
  • Your herbs will be root-bound by now so make sure to feed and water them regularly 
  • Clematis Wilt could be a problem, so watch out for that!
  • Try keeping your greenhouse cooled down when possible, you could do this by using a cloth and dampening down the floor!

PREP

It's also important to prepare your garden for the month ahead, here are some key tasks to get you started:

  • Continue to add the right compost to your garden, at Upcountry we have all the composts you may need whether that's ericaceous, multi-purpose, tomato planter, john Innes(1,2,3 and seed sowing compost)...
  • Ideal to check what went well this year and what could be improved next year 
  • Start planning for autumn, always better to be prepared
  • Why not visit some open gardens? For a lovely day out or for some inspiration!

WHAT TO PLANT THIS MONTH

  • You can continue to sow salad seeds every couple of weeks so they continue to produce the goods all summer!
  • By the end of July, you will need to begin the onion “drying off “ procedure 
  • Sprouting broccoli, Winter Cabbage, and Brussels Sprouts can be planted out 
  • You can also plant out summer bedding plants now 

PRUNING

Pruning and training your plants is a vital step towards achieving a beautiful garden! Over the winter months, your plants have definitely overgrown or got damaged, so it's important to prune for healthy future growth!

  • You can now deadhead Sweet Peas, make sure to continue to water them every day during this month!
  • If your climbers, such as honeysuckle, are going a bit crazy you should be pruning them down to make sure they don't get out of hand
  • All new box plants such as Buxus, should be trimmed back by about half after planting to stimulate bushy growth from low down on the plant. 

GARDEN  MAINTENANCE

Maintenance is vital for your garden. It's important to keep on top of jobs and keep your garden looking to the best of its ability!

  • To keep your lawn healthy, raise the height of your blades, especially if you know you are going to spend a significant amount of time on your lawn area!
  • Your tree ties could now be getting tight especially on your roses, so make sure to loosen them where necessary 
  • Continue to weed all summer long
  • Use compost as a mulch!

WILDLIFE

It’s a great time to encourage wildlife into your garden using some tempting treats, but also it’s important to watch out for them eating your crops or damaging the health of your plants and flowers!

  • Keep feeders well stocked up! Whether it's fat balls or just seeds, most types of bird feed will encourage birds into your garden!
  • Try using home DIY’s  to attract bumblebees
  • Make sure your birdbaths are topped up too, especially during hot weather!

PEST CONTROL

  • Make sure rubbish bins are sealed
  • Look out for these this month! - powdery mildew, vine weevils, and lily beetles
  • In July your broad beans could be affected by blackfly so make sure you pinch off the tips where they're being damaged! 
  • Make sure to control slugs/ snails, as they will only eat your crops but also damage them!