Now is a good time to give wisteria its summer prune, do this by cutting back all the whippy growth to five or six buds to the main stem. By doing this the climber should produce more flowering buds for … Continue reading →

To reduce the need for watering and weeding continuously throughout summer, keep applying mulches to bare areas of your beds and borders. Using your own rotted down compost is always good; just remember to give the soil a good soak … Continue reading →

Keep hoeing weeds in your borders before they get a chance to establish, it so much easier to do so when they are still a small size. Doing this prevents the weeds from flowering and seeding. Also consider mulching bare … Continue reading →

Aphids will start to colonise roses, the most organic way of eradicating aphids is by rubbing them off or by hosing them, and hopefully this will avoid the use of pesticides. If you didn’t get time to trim back winter … Continue reading →

Those of you that grow dogwoods (Cornus) and shrubby willows for their ornamental coloured stems, now is the time to prune them all back. The best colours are produced on one year old stems. Prune the stems low allowing one … Continue reading →

As this month is still wintery, remember the garden birds, not only are they our allies against various insect pests their song reminds us that spring is just around the corner. By placing bird food and fresh water out, it … Continue reading →

Start the new year with a good weed; you’ll be surprised how many weeds will start to germinate during mild spells. Don’t forget to remove annual weeds and compost, however remember to dig up the roots of perennial weeds completely … Continue reading →

Now is the time to prune all your tall bush roses by half, this prevents wind rock. When roses are rocked about a hole can develop causing water to pool around the base. This causes rot, worse still, if this … Continue reading →

Now as the days become shorter, this is a great opportunity to get into your garages and sheds, and have a cleanup. Tidy up your shelves and clean all old pots, stakes and canes with a weak disinfectant, thereby stopping … Continue reading →

Carrying on from last month, we will continue with lawn maintenance: The next job is aeration, which aids drainage and enables air to get to the grass. If you have a small lawn, you can do this by pushing a … Continue reading →