Get expert tips from BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine for a vibrant summer garden, including advice on flowers, fruits, greenhouse care, and house plants. Discover a real-life success story at Barrie Quinn’s Portnoo Market Garden in Donegal.
Essential Summer Gardening Checklist for a Flourishing Garden
As warmer weather arrives, gardening experts from BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine have provided a comprehensive checklist to ensure your garden thrives throughout the summer. Here are the key recommendations:
Flowers:
– Liquid Feed Dahlias: Enhance blooming by regularly feeding.
– Cut and Dry Lavender: Begin drying for future use.
– Feed and Deadhead Roses: Maintain healthy growth by removing spent blooms.
– Plant Autumn Bulbs: Prepare for the next season with nerines, colchicums, and sternbergia.
– Sow Biennials: Plant foxgloves, honesty, and forget-me-nots for next year’s blooms.
– Pest Control: Watch for lily beetles, snails, aphids, and vine weevils.
Fruit and Vegetables:
– Sow Salad Leaves: Ensure a continuous supply by planting salad leaves, rocket, and radishes every few weeks.
– Maintain Crops: Check and wash aphids off runner beans, and prune plum trees.
– Water Regularly: Keep celery, peas, courgettes, pumpkins, and tomatoes hydrated.
– Pick Courgettes and Peg Down Strawberry Runners: Regularly harvest courgettes and root new strawberry plants.
Greenhouse:
– Ventilation: Open vents to improve air circulation.
– Watering: Water tomatoes daily and spray the floor for humidity.
– Pest and Disease Control: Keep the greenhouse clean to avoid outbreaks.
– Prepare for Christmas: Order cold-stored potato tubers for a December harvest.
House Plants:
– Relocate Plants: Move to shaded areas to avoid scorching.
– Regular Watering: Keep up with watering schedules.
– Repotting: Transition top-heavy plants to larger pots.
– Outdoor Cleaning: Hose down plants outside to eliminate dust and insects.
In Donegal, a notable example of dedicated gardening can be found at Barrie Quinn’s Portnoo Market Garden. This family farm has transformed into a thriving market, showcasing fruits, vegetables, and even a 14-foot Mongolian sunflower. Quinn advocates for chemical-free gardening and employs creative pest control methods like cultivating lily ponds for natural slug control.
The monthly checklist from BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine coupled with real-life gardening success stories provides valuable guidance for maintaining beautiful and productive gardens through the summer months.
