JOBS for the week

Watch out for scarlet lily beetles, and remove when found – they’re clever bugs and will hop off the stem as you approach, so try to cup one hand below to catch them.

Keep an eye out for slugs and snails which may be tucking into your flowers and leafy vegetables.

Prune lupins before they go to seed and you may get a second smaller flush. Cut back hardy geraniums which have finished flowering to encourage new growth.

Keep roses well-watered in warm weather and regularly check pots for watering.

Peat-based composts can dry out completely, so plants may need complete dunking in a bucket of water until all air bubbles are gone from soil.

Warm weather can lead to an increase in algae and duckweed in your pond, so fish it out with a small fishing net, or twirl it around a cane. Barley straw in the pond can help keep the problem at bay. If you can’t get barley straw, there are liquid products available that contain extract of barley straw which will do the same job.

Keep your bird bath topped up for our feathered friends.

Divide iris after flowering – you only need to do this every few years, but it will put new life into old stock.