Mzzz B's July/August Garden

Hydrangea grown from a cutting from a friends plant – unknown variety!

Hydrangea Great Star

Pink Annabel

Hydrangea Aspera

Hydrangea quercifolia

Crocosmia adding a real pop of colour

Annual Cosmos

It's Hydrangea time!

July has been an odd month after that heat and drought- do you remember it? Now cold and wet! The garden however seems to have enjoyed it.

A friend recently complained that her garden had lost its colour and was now just green. Thats ok but it's good to have colour when you want it. The photos show what is possible to have in your garden in Tattenhall at this time. Some are annuals, but I have also seen how hydrangeas have come into play in the garden this year- and this is their time to flower. There are now so many different sorts of hydrangea, not just the traditional mop head varieties, but ones with all sorts of different shaped flowers and furry leaves.

The garden has turned a corner too, and it feels like a different season, the early perennials have gone over and need cutting back to allow the later flowering ones and the annuals to occupy the stage.

Jobs to do this next month

• Cut back back and dead head, but remember to leave some seed heads to drop their seed- self seeders are very useful, Also those seed heads could be good for the winter for birds.
• Collect seed- let it dry then store in paper envelopes or bags, making sure to label clearly. Some hardy annuals like cornflowers can be sown immediately and in the spring, doing both gives you annuals at different times of the summer.
• Pick sweet peas and feed weekly to encourage them to continue to flower.
• Discover new recipes for that glut of courgettes that we always seem to get.- a courgette soup which takes 2 kilos of courgettes, with basil, garlic and Parmesan cheese is a good option, and you can freeze it.
• There is still time to sow salad crops like lettuce and radish.
• Sow winter salad crops like Mizuna and Mibuna- peppery leaves which can be eaten raw or cooked in stir fries.
• Semi ripe cuttings can be takenoffshrubs.For more information on taking cuttings look at Monty Dons Tips and Advice online.
• Order bulbs for next year, to plant in September or October, but do not plant tulips until November. Beware mice eating your bulbs in pots, and cover them with a mouse proof mesh. We lost whole pots full of tulips last year.
• Now the bird nesting season is over hedges can be cut.
• Prune lavender to keep it looking good, and to allow it to regrow before the autumn.
• Later in August you can cut back mini meadows and bigger areas of long grass, when the seeds have dropped. If you can cut it quite low, then sow fresh yellow rattle seed into it. This will germinate in the autumn and start to diminish the vigour of the grass allowing more space for wildflowers. WeLoveTattenhall