GARDENS
ANNA TAYLOR, OWNER OF ANNA’S FLOWER FARM IN AUDLEY END, SHARES WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE GARDEN THIS MONTH GARDEN GROW? How does your JULY
t’s peak summer, hammock time. The experienced gardener is like a conductor of a huge orchestra: keeping the beat of the garden
maintained, supporting harmony across the instrumental sections, punctuating the symphony with flourishes of delight from one-hit wonders. The list of jobs looks long, but in reality, it’s all just tweaking now. The hard work has been done. Unlike a living room or any interior design, the garden is never ‘completed’. There is no plant that behaves like a lamp, where you can command flowering on or off. You can’t hoover the borders of weeds or dust the dead flowers off plants. I think the truest mark of a gardener is a love for the ‘housework’ required when nurturing your patch. Jobs this month will revolve around gently tending the flower borders and kitchen gardens as they simmer away. Pinch out the main stem of annuals like cosmos, nicotiana, snapdragons and sunflowers. Take out the tip to encourage them to bush out. Keep picking flowers from plants every week to prevent them running to seed. Gather a bunch of flowers for your table, bedside – or for a friend. Cornflowers, nigella and calendula are essential cottage garden varieties, and a jug of these is so evocative of the English summer. Tie in dahlias and sweet peas, feeding them once a week. Clear spring flowering biennials like sweet william and sweet rocket. Prune lavender and divide irises if they get overcrowded. Tidy back perennials such as geraniums, and take cuttings of salvias and scented geraniums.
SUMMER LOVIN’ July is time to relax enjoy the fruits of your labour
Enjoy this month from your lounger and dream. What leaves you wanting?
Pinch out the growing side shoots of tomatoes, tie in and feed once a week. When it’s really hot, water the soil every morning. Sow beans, kale, radish, carrots and beetroot. Pinch off growing tips of squash and courgettes. Harvest herbs and sow more basil. Chop chives, fennel and marjoram back hard, to refresh the growth. Thin trees of their fruit – we had such a still spring and the blossom stayed for weeks, so were always in for a bumper harvest. Allow each fruit to swell, air to circulate and reduce weight on the branches. Create new strawberry plants from runners and gather in those salads, greens and beans. Most of those tasks can be done with a drink in your hand, along with a little smug smile, knowing what went before to arrive at the garden now. There are certainly jobs there that I would love to do, but I haven’t got the plants planted to even complain
about having to maintain! This is that pivotal point of the year where you can look about and plan for a future July. Enjoy this month from your lounger and dream. What leaves you wanting? What would you like to be doing or seeing in your garden right now? What do you want to harvest? Do you need to order seeds, bulbs or make a new border plan? Now is the exact time to do that. I’d encourage focusing on a couple of points of the year and spots in the garden, then work backwards. You might need to replant in the autumn, create new beds and plan for next summer. Consider the incremental steps to get to this time next year, where you will be ticking off the tasks, gathering flowers and produce – knowing this is where the fun begins. Anna is a garden coach, writer and teacher. Find out more at annasfl owerfarm.co m
82 JULY 2022 CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK
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