DIARMUID GAVIN
Abelia will thrive in mild areas FRAGRANT Lavender, above, needs sun and good drainage. Lavatera, below, grows fast so is great for plugging the gaps in your borders ■ Deadhead roses to tidy up and encourage new flowers.
■ In the veg garden, as well as harvesting, you can be sowing seeds – lettuce, beetroot, Swiss chard, spring onions, swede and spring cabbage.
Feed crops with liquid fertiliser.
■ Keep an eye out for tomato and potato blight. ■ Aerate your compost heap by turning it over. If it seems too dry, add some water. ■ Lemon trees and other citrus fruit trees need feeding throughout the summer.
■ Houseplants such as the umbrella tree, Kentian palm and philodendron can be brought outside for some fresh air and a good hose down to get rid of any dust that’s built up.
■ Make a note of what’s working in the garden and what could be changed for next year. ■ Strawberry plants that are sending out runners can be pegged down to create new plants for next year if your current plants are ageing. Otherwise, remove the runners.
■ Make sure to leave time to enjoy your outdoor space and admire your gardening efforts! I love all foxgloves, but I especially enjoy the dusty pink colour of this foxglove and the sound of bees humming as they find their way into the nectar. You can sow foxglove seeds now, either by scattering where you’d like them or in pots on the compost surface – don’t cover them with compost. They grow in most soils but as edge-of-woodlanders, their preference is for semi-shade. Warning – all parts are poisonous if ingested.