By Kath Chattelle

We can look forward to the longest day of the year this month where the sun rises at about quarter to five and does not set until around 20 past nine, leaving time to get in the garden for a few hours after work. Gardens this month do not have the range of colours we can expect in later summer, but they look fresh and lush.

It is at this time of year that cosmos, tagetes, tithonia and zinnia can be planted outside now the risk of frosts is over. Fork over the area you want to plant and mix in some compost and plant deep enough to cover the root ball completely. Firm the soil around the plant to give support to the stems. Water in well and ideally after watering apply five centimeters of well-rotted garden compost around the plant to retain moisture and suppress weeds.

In my enthusiasm to create an area quickly full of plants I have made the error of overcrowding plants on the basis that I can still see soil, I hope I have finally learnt that plants do need room to grow into a space and not to have to compete with its neighbour where it will be denied the opportunity to look its best.  Allow plenty of room for growth between your plants.

Cosmos Flower

Bedding Plants

In all types of gardens, bedding plants provide a temporary decorative seasonal display for borders, containers and hanging baskets. Bedding can be grown from seed, bought as young seedlings (plug plants), or purchased as pot-grown specimens, often in multi-packs and cellular trays, ready for planting.

Hanging baskets

Plant up summer hanging baskets now as the risk of frost is over.

Plants for summer baskets can include

ArgyranthemumLysimachia (creeping jenny), Dichondra ‘Silver Falls’, FuchsiaPelargonium (geraniums)LobeliaViola (pansies), PetuniaSalvia and Nicotiana  (tobacco plants).

To create a hanging basket firstly line a standard wire basket,  you can buy readymade cardboard liners and/or fibrous materials to do this.

Before you fill your basket with compost consider how you will water it. Hanging baskets tend to dry out more quickly than other types of containers, and water can easily be wasted from them. Plants grow better with rainwater.

  • Place a small circle of plastic that can be cut from a margarine tub or similar in the bottom of the basket before filling with compost. This will help stop water running straight out of the bottom
  • Once the basket is filled, place a small empty flowerpot in the centre of the basket  to take the water and allow it time to soak in rather than running off the surface of the compost

A good quality, peat-free multipurpose is fine for a hanging basket display as it only has to last for a season.

Choosing and arranging the plants

  • When you begin to arrange the plants in the basket, it is easier to start with one, central plant . This can be used to create structure and impact.
  • Around this, position some trailing plants to cover the sides of the basket,
  • Once all the plants are in, fill around the root balls carefully with more compost, firming gently, so that you don’t leave any large air gaps. Then water  slowly, so that water doesn’t run out of the bottom of the basket
  • Check baskets every day in summer,  always watering them unless the compost is wet. Drying out is a problem as the plants grow and days are warm or windy.  
  • In spring, summer, and early autumn (April to September), apply a liquid fertiliser, preferably after normal watering.
  • Deadhead regularly to prevent the plants’ energy going into seed production, rather than more flowers.

Summer Pots

Plant up containers with tender perennials (these are plants sensitive to cold temperatures; in a warm climate they will live year after year but will die in a cold climate) and summer bedding for displays throughout the summer months.

  • For pots you need to look for plants that flower over a long period and will do well in containers, for example fuchsias.
  • Bedding plants are usually colourful half-hardy, short-lived, or annual plants, grown for displays in beds or containers.
  • Choose a focal plant such as a structural shrub such as a small cordyline or a canna to grow in the centre of the pot and surround this one plant with a mix of upright bedding plants and some that trail over the side of the container. Be generous with your planting but consider restricting the colour scheme
  • Combine plants that have similar requirements; most summer bedding plants do best in full sun but some, such as begonias and tobacco plants, will tolerate light shade
Fuchsia Mrs Potts – Ideal for pot planting

Plant tomatoes outdoors

Cordon tomatoes are best grown as single-stemmed plants, which you will need to stake. These vigorous plants produce side-shoots from the joints where leaves sprout from the main stem. These side-shoots should be pinched out to keep plants growing vertically on just one stem. If they’re not removed, the side-shoots grow rapidly, forming a mass of long, scrambling, leafy stems that are difficult to support, produce few fruits and take up a lot of space. Removing the side-shoots is simple – every time you water, check the plant for any shoots sprouting just above each leaf, from the joint between the leaf and the stem. Pinch these out or snap them off.