Gardening in Summer with Longacres Garden Centre

It’s officially summer and in true British fashion we have been treated to both glorious sun and torrential rain. Gardens are now bursting with colour; fruits & vegetables are ready to pick and wildlife is making a more frequent appearance. No matter what the weather brings, summer is the perfect time to be out in the garden with plenty of jobs to be keeping you busy!

What to plant during summer

While your gardens may already be brimming with colour thanks to summer flowering bulbs, there are still plenty of ways to add some extra blooms. Bedding plants are a fantastic choice when looking to fill plant pots or hanging baskets, with a wide variety to choose from.

Boxed summer bedding are best when planted once the frosts have passed and temperatures are warming up, often from the start of May through to June. It is still possible to plant your summer bedding beyond June, you may just find that the plant has become leggy whilst confined to its box – don’t worry, this won’t affect its growth!

Popular varieties of summer bedding include bacopa, begonia, bidens, calibrachoa, geraniums, impatiens and petunias. While they may look small to begin with, once they have settled in you will be treated to an explosion of colour.

For planting in July or August, we recommend looking for more established pot plants, which are great for adding some instant colour. Popular choices include cosmos, dahlia, digitalis, fuchsia, nemesia and osteospermum.

To save yourself time the following year, you could opt for summer flowering perennials such as anemone, hardy geraniums, lavender, nepeta and salvia. These are often well established plants and are ready to plant throughout summer.

Shop the full range of bedding plants at Longacres, here.

Maintaining your summer garden

Dead heading flowers

Often encouraged to keep your plants looking tidy, dead heading does more than just making your plants look good. By removing any flower heads that have died back, the plant can focus more energy on new growth.

If flower heads are left on a plant too long, they may turn into seed pods, which can indicate to the plant that the season is over and no new buds will form.

Dead heading plants is a simple and quick task (depending on how many plants are in your garden), and you don’t need any specialist tools either. For tender bedding plants, such as petunias, use your finger and thumb to pinch off dead flowers.

If your plants have woodier stems, take a pair of secateurs to cut away the dead flowers. We recommend cutting just above the last bud, as this is where new shoots will form.

Let your lawn grow

While you may be tempted to keep your lawn looking neat and trimmed, not mowing your grass during the summer can bring a heap of benefits to your garden. While we understand letting an entire lawn grow freely may look messy or unkept, you could try sectioning off a small area to grow wild!

Free growing lawns will provide a well needed habitat for natures smallest creatures, from frogs to hedgehogs. Also, wildflowers that grow throughout lawns are a haven for insects, further benefitting the plants around your garden.

Tall grass provides protection for the ground below, meaning the soil stays cooler during the heat and well established roots retain moisture. What’s even better, leaving your grass to grow naturally will save you time on the mowing too!

How to beat the heat

When temperatures soar, it is often tempting to water our garden more frequently, however this can do more harm than good.

Avoid over watering – while it may seem like your plants need an extra drink throughout the day, you may end up over watering and saturating the soil. If the ground becomes too wet, the roots will end up waterlogged and become susceptible to root rot.

Water early morning and late evening – as temperatures are highest during the middle of the day, it is best to water during the coolest times. By watering early morning or late evening, the moisture has more time to penetrate the soil and roots, as opposed to being evaporated by the sun.

Use a water butt – often during summer months you may experience a water hose ban. Setting up a water butt during the rainy seasons allows you to collect rain water that can be used throughout the dryer seasons to keep your garden well-watered.

Add a bird bath – the hot temperatures are not only difficult for plants, but also for your garden wildlife. By adding a bird bath to your garden, you can provide a well needed water source for animals and insects when they need it the most.

Shop water butts at Longacres, here.

Shop bird baths at Longacres, here.

Getting ahead for autumn

The summer planting doesn’t end with bedding plants or perennials; why not get ahead and start planting your autumn flowering bulbs?

Autumn bulbs add a pop of seasonal colour as your summer plants begin to die back, meaning your garden never looses its life! You can plant your bulbs while they are dormant and wait for autumn, or buy them ready planted and more established if you have left it a little late in the season!

There are a wide variety of autumn flowering bulbs, with some of the most popular to find in gardens being autumn crocus, cyclamen, dahlia and gladiolus.

Did you know, dahlia bulbs can be planted anywhere from late April to June? The earlier you plant them, the sooner they will flower! To enjoy your dahlias for a longer period of time, try staggering the times you plant them, as this will allow for flowering into autumn too.