Gardeners' World: When and how to prune roses
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Gardening is often put on the back burner in summer, with all the hard work done in the weeks leading up to the warmer months. While August is the perfect time to sit back and enjoy your home-grown plants, there’s still time to sow new crops that will flower or fruit by the end of the month. Whether you’re looking to fill small gaps in the garden or are craving a fresh harvest of seasonal ingredients, the team at GardenBuildingsDirect.co.uk have shared their top picks to get going in your green space.
August is just days away, marking the end of the warm season for most of the UK.
With little time left to enjoy summer plants, the green-fingered team at GardenBuildingsDirect.co.uk have urged Britons to “get planting now” to prolong the colourful summer produce in our gardens.
The outdoors experts said: “Even as the end of summer begins to creep up, there’s no reason to abandon summery plants and colours just yet.
“Now is the perfect time to begin sowing a variety of plants and foods which will be ready in time for a late summer display and a fresh garden harvest.”
Salad staples
There’s nothing more refreshing than a salad in the hot weather, especially when the ingredients have been grown in your own garden.
If you’re running low on homegrown produce, there are plenty of staple salad ingredients which can be sown now, ranging from green leaves to sweet red beetroot.
GardenBuildingsDirect said: “Fill planters with a mix of beetroots, spring onions, green beans, and radishes for a colourful and crunchy salad bowl.
“These late summer veggies will be ready to harvest between four to eight weeks’ time.”
Speedy and productive salad leaves will also work now, just make sure you choose the correct varieties.
According to the gardening experts, “sow, cut and come again” lettuces, such as Red Cos and Green Bataria are the best options for a fast-growing crop.
The baby leaves will be ready to harvest in just a few weeks if you’re quick with the planting.
Toss the ingredients altogether once ripe for the ultimate seasonal salad.
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Border flowers
Fresh border flowers will bring your garden to life in the late summer sun.
To create a colourful array of late summer blooms, get stuck into sowing nigella seeds, tulbaghia, and phlox paniculata as soon as possible.
Late summer flowers
Flowers are the best plants for injecting more colour into gardens, especially during the late summer.
At this point in the season, it is best to sow rapid varieties such as crocosmia, Californian lilac, and ceanothus.
These will do well in pots or beds, just make sure they get plenty of water and sun.
Strawberries
Perhaps the most anticipated summer fruit, strawberries are a staple in the gardening calendar.
While most crops should be planted much earlier in autumn or spring, they can be grown from potted plants for a quick harvest.
Purchase potted strawberry plants now and sow them into the soil straight away.
It should only take around 8 weeks of regular feeding and watering before the red, juicy fruits are ready to eat.
Planting now will prolong your strawberry harvest until the very end of September for a continual crop from summer through to autumn.
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