June

Subject - under construction ~ Description - under construction

Lawns ~ Now is the latest time to add the top dressing to ensure that the final summer feed can be applied in September ~ If the lawn is brown, then leave it alone i.e. do not a cut Roses ~ Spray roses. Mildew tends to strike later in the summer than blackspot. If you are growing desease-prone rose varieties it is worth protecting them by spraying ~ Train any young or extended shoots of climbing or rambling rose Biennials ~ Spring bedding plants such as wallflowers, pansies and sweet williams are much cheaper if you grow them from seed now rather than buying plants in the autumn

August

Lawns ~ The end of the month is a good time to sow grass seeds - prepare the ground well a few weeks beforehand ~ Turf is best laid in the early autumn unless you are sure it will be watered regularly Flowers ~ Pinch out the growing tips of wallflowers to make the plants bushy ~ Remove summer bedding plants as soon as they start to die off and put them on the compost heap ~ You can be a little more relaxed with border plants as many will still have flowering potential if you have been deadheading them General ~ Refresh the garden by trimming low growing perennials such as Lady's Mantle and Hardy Geranium ~ Cut back with garden shears or a trimmer and then water and feed them ~ Fresh new foliage should appear within a week and, with luck, warm weather could mean more flowers Wasps and stings ~ Late summer is when the worker wasps are turfed out of the nest and become a nuisance ~ Avoid upsetting them but if you do get bitten a cold flannel applied to the sting will help ~ Mosquito and horsefly bites can be painful ~ Use a repellent containing DEET (diethyltoluamide) if these insects are a problem in your garden