Summer is here and hopefully it will be a perfect month for gardening with long sunny days and plenty of time to get out in your gardens.

By now you should have plenty of flowers in full bloom. Deadheading and cutting back any ones that have flowered will encourage plenty of new growth in many plants such as Roses, Delphiniums, Salvia and Phlox. You need to cut or pinch off the flower at the base of the bloom to encourage the energy into new blooms rather than seeds. Don’t be afraid to thin out flowers as well, they need plenty of space for their roots and enough room for leaves to get the sunlight to photosynthesise.

This is the last chance to plant quite a few vegetables for harvest in September as you don’t want to risk October frosts. Check your seed packs if you are unsure as they have clear labelling systems for planting and harvesting. Putting some time into your tomatoes now will be beneficial, pinch out the side shoots to focus the growth and begin to feed them.

Any plants you have kept indoors can be safely moved outside so they can enjoy the warmth.

Mowing once a week is essential to keep the garden looking tidy and keeping any weeds at bay. Make sure your clippings are going into your compost. Your compost needs your attention too, keep it moist, turn it weekly and keep adding a mix of carbon rich material and nitrogen rich material, your greens and browns.

Your borders will need regular hoeing to keep down the weeds. A regular little and often approach will stop it becoming too overwhelming.

Check the temperature of your greenhouse, you will need to make sure you have shade ready if needed and keep those windows and doors open on very hot days. Whilst your in your greenhouse, keep a constant eye out for pests and remove any you find, as well as dead or diseased leaves.

Remember when you are watering to avoid those really hot times of the day to avoid losing water to evaporation. Most people tend to stick to a routine of early morning or the evening when you know there has definitely been no rain and it is cool enough. Water the soil not the plants and let the roots do their work.

If you have any plants that are getting too tall, use stakes or plant supports to avoid wind damage.

Have a think about your autumn colour now and start planting your containers, choose a variety of different height plants and some trailing plants such as trailing pansy or trailing violas.

Make sure you look after yourselves in the garden this summer, hopefully the bigger jobs will have been done by now, but work around the cooler parts of the day and ensure you stop for plenty of drinks. Our Greengage staff are used to the heat by now and our uniform is designed to keep them cool as well as smart.

Words: Jude Eastick, Company Director & Head Gardener