St Swithin’s Day if thou dost rain,
For forty days it will remain.
St Swithin’s Day if thou be fair,
For forty days twill rain nae mair.
As flowering shrubs and roses finish blooming they should be dead headed and this will encourage repeat flowering on the roses. A feed will also help promote this. Feeding dahlias will produce stronger plants and a mulch of lawn mowings and garden compost will help conserve moisture. Dahlias like runner beans like to have moisture so you can do the same with the beans. Feed too with liquid feed plants in pots and hanging baskets. Fertilise onions and tomatoes.
Keep regular mowing of lawns keeping the cuttings for use as mulch and compost. Newly sown lawns will need watering if the weather is dry.
Summer prune overlong shoots on trained fruit trees and arches. Clip privet hedges and box topiary by the end of the month. Prune hydrangeas and black currants after the fruit has been harvested. This will promote an abundance of new growth which will bear next year’s fruit. Summer prune the new growth on wisteria – 5 or 6 buds from the main stem.
Vigorous growth on the dahlias will require support as also will gladiolus, chrysanthemums and michaelmas daisies. This new growth on many shrubs and evergreens can be used to take cuttings – forsythia, flowering currant,escallonias,weigela, camelias, rhododendron,lavender, sage rosemary, thyme – the list goes on! Peg down strawberry runners to help them root and prepare ground for new strawberry beds. In general after three years a strawberry bed should be discarded and a new bed made.
Continue to harvest potatoes according to variety, and garlic, shallots, lettuce, carrots, broad beans as they come ready. Sow salads for autumn use and also beet and sea kale. Late savoy cabbage, winter cabbage, autumn heading cauliflower and broccoli can be planted now. Harvest herbs for drying. Prick out biennials – sweet william and wallflowers -and grow them on in a nursery bed giving them plenty of room.
In the orchard thin the fruit on plum, pears and apples. If the king fruit has not been removed then this is the one to go – it is generally in the centre of a cluster and often not so well shaped.
Keep ponds and bird - baths topped up. Clear duckweed and blanket weed from ponds and keep a vigilant eye for signs of pests and disease. Think ahead and spray potatoes and tomatoes for blight. Spray for mildew and greenfly and destroy the eggs of the cabbage white as soon as she lays on your brassicas.
Continue to pay attention to ventilation and shading in the greenhouse. And finally its time to start thinking about ordering those spring flowering bulbs for planting in the autumn!