What can we do to keep our gardens looking their best in July?

Although we have passed the longest day and the nights will start to draw in - fear not. There are still plenty of long Summer lazy garden days ahead.
July in the garden can be a busy time for weeding, watching out for pests but mainly sitting back and enjoying your hard work, soaking in those colours and beautiful scents.

Here are my top tips for keeping busy during July in the garden.

Lawn Care

• After the recent rain feed your lawn with a straight lawn fertiliser - Zero Lawn Feed greens your lawn without forcing growth. Zero Lawn Feed contains added Seaweed & Iron to control moss.
• Prepare for sowing a new lawn. July is the ideal time to sow new lawns. Lawn seed will germinate within a few weeks at this time of year and will reward you with a nice green lawn before late summer.
  First, kill off any existing grass or weeds from the area with Weedfree 360. Next dig over the soil and rake to a fine tilt, removing all stones and debris. Then, wait! Do not sow your Green Velvet lawn seed until rain is forecast.

Sow and Grow

• Liquid feed all fruiting plants in patio pots (including tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, chillies, indoor grapes and family apple trees) every ten days.
  This helps to ripen the fruit and ensure your plants produce a maximum crop of fruit/veg for you and your family.
• Get the kids involved and sow the seeds of forget me not, scented stock and sweet william.
  Sow them in small seed trays and grow the plants through the summer to flower in the garden next spring.
• Sow beetroot, radish and Swiss chard in the soil or in a window box. This will give you some delicious pickings from September through to April.
• Sow wild flower seeds now. Simply rake your soil, apply a dressing of lime and sow a collection of wildflower seeds to encourage honey bees and butterflies into your garden this summer.

Garden Care

• Vine weevil is a real problem for gardeners in July. It is a pest that infests a wide range of ornamental plants and fruits, especially those grown in containers.
  An organic and natural way to protect your plants from wine weevil is to use nematodes.
  A nematode is a small roundworm that will eliminate vine weevil. Simply add the nematode to water and sprinkle the mix onto your pots and containers. It is a simple and safe solution, whilst also being extremely effective at controlling pests in your patio pots and containers.
• Plant for the cabbage caterpillars! Yes, if you plant seeds of Flowering Nasturtiums now, close to your vegetable patch, you will save your cabbage. The flowers will attract the white butterfly.
  It will then lay its eggs directly onto the nasturtiums leaves, away from your valuable cabbage plants. This will help to protect your cabbage, cauliflower, brussel sprouts and broccoli from damage in an organic and environmentally friendly way.
• Prune back summer fruiting raspberries, blackcurrants, gooseberries, red and white currants after harvesting the fruit. Then, apply a dressing of high potash fertiliser to all fruit trees.
• Prune back the tops of apple and pear trees. Remove the long growth at the top of the fruit trees to allow more light through to the developing fruit. This will also reduce the vigour in the trees and encourage more fruiting next summer.

Garden Colour

• Deadhead roses after their first flush of flowers. Deadheading is the removal of old or faded blooms, it will ensure roses flower from now until early winter. After deadheading, feed the roses. Apply a dressing of Rose Food now and again in early august.
  This will encourage new growth and ensure your roses will produce new flowers all summer long. July is also a great time to plant new scented rose varieties to add additional colour and scent to your garden or patio pots. Want to know more about planting, growing and pruning roses?
• Continue to water pots and containers and feed with a liquid such as Blooming Magic every 2 weeks. Maintain the blooms by removing fading/dead flower heads and petals. this will encourage new growth so do it regularly.
• Now is the time to plan ahead for autumn, winter and spring. July is the time to sow flowering bedding plants from seed as the temperatures are ideal for germination.
  Scented wallflowers and winter flowering pansies are both wonderful flowers to plant now for colour later in the year.
  A Wallflower such as Persian Carpet is a truly lovely dwarf variety that covers the ground and will creates a riot of colour next March, April and May.

• If you have a favourite plant you would like to see again later in the year, then consider propagating the plant. Simply, take cuttings from the plants, dip the base into organic rooting powder and place the cutting into a plastic pot of moist compost.
  The cuttings should be short, about 6 inches long. Next, cover the pot with a white, light plastic bag and place on your window sill. The cuttings will produce new roots in three weeks time. Then you can simply pot them up for further growth.
• Don't forget Patio colour! If you have a patio at your house, you know how much time is spent there during the Summer months.
  So why not add some Summer Inspiration colour to brighten up the place! Try some vibrant bedding plants to mix it up a bit and add some variety to help the local wildlife.

You may never have to leave the garden!

At Horkans we have you covered for every garden lifestyle. Imagine being able to grow, cook, dine alfrsco in your own back garden.
With our exclusive Vegepod, top range BBQ and superb furniture - we have your staycation sorted.

Barbecues

July is the smell of a delicious BBQ wafting through the air. What's better than having friends and family over for a BBQ during the Summer months?
It's something that brings people together and is enjoyable for the entire family. Who is the BBQ king n your house?

At Horkans, we have a range of amazing barbecues available:

Garden Furniture

The best way to spend July in your garden is by sitting in some cosy garden furniture. There's nothing better than relaxing in a comfortable chair with a cup of tea (or a G&T!) on a nice Summer evening!
Here at Horkans, we have something to suit everybody from our rattan canopy beds to our garden benches.

Need a hand getting the most out of your outdoor environment? Our experts are always on hand to help at your local store.
Just contact your local store where one of our helpful and knowledgeable staff will be happy to help and answer any questions you may have.