Summer Gardening Planner

Early Summer

• Harden off tender seedlings sown indoors.
• Plant summer bedding and vegetable plants.
• Plant up containers and hanging baskets.
• Protect young plant growth from pests, especially slugs.
• Put houseplants, including citrus, outside for summer.
• Feed flowering shrubs and roses to promote flowering.
• Prune evergreen shrubs.
• Earth up potatoes and harvest after flowering.
• In late summer, sow beet, radishes, spinach and lettuce every two weeks.
• Take softwood cuttings.

 Late Summer

• Sow spring cabbages.
• Trim lavender hedges after flowering.
• Prune wisteria to restrict growth.
• Take semi-ripe wood cuttings.
• Make an insect hotel in time for winter hibernation.

All Summer

• Water containers and new plantings frequently, particularly in hot weather.
• Weed beds and borders.
• Mow the lawn as required.
• Deadhead flowering plants to extend blooming.
• Prune hedges and topiary as required.
• Tie climbers in to their supports.

• Make a compost bin; fill, turn and empty when necessary.
• Make a wooden obelisk.
• Create a bog garden.
• Dig out a pond.
• Make a border and lawn edge.
• Make a rose arch (pp.222-223).
• Check tree ties, and loosen if necessary.
• Look out for pests and diseases, and take appropriate action.
• Cut out dead or diseased wood.
• Clean all cutting tools after use to prevent spreading plant diseases.