A nice down pour last weekend and welcome overcast weather for me as most of the box hedges have been trimmed here by Pete my hedge Man who makes a wonderful job while I follow behind and do the clean up.Once cut box hedge tends to sun burn on hot sunny days but this overcast week was just perfect to allow them time to recover.

If people are trimming soft hedges right now use the trimmings for mulch,I find soft trimmings perfect because their softness will break down quickly adding humus to the ground. I do this only with the soft hedge leaves at this time of the year, so with hedge trimmings, un-sprayed lawn clippings and spent blossom there are plenty of mulch choice's for your Rhododendrons.

This week I have made a start on dead heading rhododendrons and camellias that have flowered. This stops them from making seed which means that they are left to put everything into new growth. They can be feed now with a light dressing of acid fertiliser and mulched around the roots to keep the moisture in over the dry months This goes for azaleas as well once they have finished flowering.

Everything needing a boost here our garden I have given nitrofoska blue, lawns included because it will not cause burning like other dry fertiliser's on lawns if not watered in well, nutrients need to be kept up to plants and trees while they are making such rapid growth.


A lot of town gardens use bark as a mulch and start topping this up about now. Bark is fine to keep the weeds down but it takes a lot of good nitrogen out of the ground as it breaks down, using slow release fertilisers around plants surrounded by bark is a must for their on going health.

I have been rather ruthless on some deciduous shrubs in my garden earlier this year and good results are beginning to show now. There are some shrubs which need to be cut by a third every second year once they have reach the desired height or they will become too tall and woody. Lilac is one of these, it flowers on new seasons wood and each new lot of growth turns into hard wood which puts out new growth each year making the flowers higher and higher on the bush. After a number of years it will be only ugly bare branches at eye level. Other plants which need to be renewed by cutting back by a third and removing aged wood once they have reached the desired size are wigelia, the small pale pink trumpet shaped flowers which are covering their bushes right now, kolwotsia, long bell shaped pink flowers on woody arching shrubs flowering now, Philidelphous,mock brides blossom which is also flowering now with it's lovely white very fragrant flowers, it will flower the second year after being cut back. These three mentioned are all very old fashioned shrubs which will probably be found in older established gardens but very worth while growing. Most hard wood shrubs will start again as a bushy shrub if cut low in late winter or once finished flowering, don't be afraid to get the saw and loppers out and say goodbye to ugly leggy shrubs. Two years ago I cut hebe's and pittosporums and other natives which were all planted together right to the ground, they had all out grown their space. I thought some may die but no, they all regrew as new small shrubs and already they need to be trimmed again..

Our gardens are getting dry again and moisture is so important to the new growth of early summer, get that water deep down into the roots and mulch to keep it there.

The green fly have found my roses this week so I have been forced to deal to them with a systemic pesticide which I will continue with every 10 days for a while, but I will use fish emulsion on the vegetables to confuse the bugs who will see green veg but smell protein.

Keep planting out the vegetable plants at 2 week intervals so that you will all ways have fresh produce coming on. Keep the weeds at bay by using a push hoe between the rows while the weeds are tiny, it only takes a minute, weeding takes ages.

　

Cheers, Linda.