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Edition Seventeen - August
2007
I really don't know what to say about the weather we're
having, and for those of you who have been recently flooded, I'm sure
gardening is the least of your worries..
Flooded gardens do recover and it is as well to just leave them to their own devices until the ground has thoroughly dried out; your home, when you are able to return to it, will take priority...
Some practical tips here:- Your garden after it has been flooded
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The UK's largest Begonia Flower Carpet The Lions Club of Stowmarket & District with support from Thompson & Morgan will be laying the LARGEST Begonia Flower Carpet in the UK.
Bury St Edmunds will again host this amazing colourful masterpiece in the beautiful Abbey Gardens, which will be open for viewing from 9 am until dusk on the following days:-
Why not go along?
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Jobs for the month - August
House plants
Keep house plants well watered and misted with a spray, to help keep aphids and red spider mite at bay. If you are going on holiday ask someone to look after your plants, but if that is not possible, move them to a shady part of your home, making sure they have ample water. There are self-watering systems available from most good garden centres and DIY stores.
Lawns
Lawns will still need frequent mowings during August, especially with all the rain we've had. If you are going away on holiday, allow the grass cuttings to stay on the lawn for a couple of weeks prior to your trip, which will help keep the lawn moist.
Herbaceous borders
Continue dead-heading, weeding and hoeing to keep the borders looking neat. You can sow many biennials straight into the ground this month; Cornflowers, Californian Poppies, Foxgloves and Sweet Williams, are all good examples that will get away to an early start next year. Collect seeds from the various hardy annuals you want, jumble them all up and throw them into the borders. The result will be great and you can always thin out those you don't want.
Vegetables
Shallots and autumn-sown onions should be ready for lifting in dry weather. Lift them on a dry day (if you can find one) and then tie them and hang them in a cool, dry place. There is still time to sow a last batch of lettuce which will be appreciated in the autumn. Keep picking runner beans.
Ponds
More maintenance this month to keep the pond free of algae and aphids. I always enjoyed blasting aphids from foliage with the hose pipe and then watching the fish eat them. Don't leave the fish to their own devices if you are going away - get a neighbour to feed them and keep an eye on them. If we have a dry spell, (anything is possible!) the water level in your pond can quickly drop and it is essential to top it up slowly, not introducing too much tap water too quickly. The temperature should not be allowed to fluctuate either.
Wildlife
Animals of all kinds are already beginning to prepare for the long winter ahead, so start to be vigilant about feeding the birds, making sure they always have sufficient available food. I have already noticed an increase in the wasp population this year, and apart from being a little early, they seem smaller than usual. Certainly not the Euro wasp we have been told to watch out for.
Happy gardening till next month....
Index to previous editions of Age-Net gardening column here
Tickets for RHS members
Privilege rate tickets are available for RHS members to all RHS shows,
but tickets must be booked in advance. Click on the individual show links
below for further information.
RHS members are not charged a booking fee for tickets purchased except
for advanced tickets to the Malvern shows. To
find out how to become an RHS member click here
****************************
Some web sites of interest to gardeners:
The living theatre of plants
and people
The Eden Project is a gateway into the world of plants and people.
A meeting place for all to discover how we depend on plants and how we
can help to manage and conserve them for our mutual survival.
Gardening
is an important part of many people's lives. You don't have to give up
gardening because of accident or illness, the onset of disability or the
problems associated with growing older. The information on their website
is designed to provide you with the information to Carry on Gardening.
Carry on Gardening was initiated by the horticultural charity Thrive
and is funded by the National
Lottery Charities Board. It brings together information
on easy ways of gardening gathered over 23 years by Thrive and research
carried out since the early 1970s by Mary Marlborough Centre, Oxford,
on tools and equipment for disabled and older people.
www.alantitchmarsh.com Alan Titchmarsh MBE, TV gardener, writer, broadcaster and
thoroughly nice person. Just a few choice words to describe the peoples`
favourite TV gardener. See his website....
Thompson
and Morgan
A growing resource for gardeners worldwide. The site includes
the international online seed catalogues, the young plants catalogue (UK
only), the wholesale seeds catalogue, together with the award winning
Germination Times and a host of other useful information.
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And some reading material:-
"The Yellow Book 2006" contains information of all Gardens of England
and Wales open for charity, from National Gardens Scheme and is available
from all good bookstores throughout the UK priced £7.99. http://www.ngs.org.uk/yellow_book.htm
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