Don’t forget to deadhead your fading roses’ flowers, remembering to prune them just above a leaf. A bud should emerge from the leaf stalk and stem. Also consider feeding the rose with a rose specific fertiliser, this will prolong the flowering. However don’t deadhead wild roses, as these produce large hips in autumn.

Those of you that have conifer hedges should now be looking to have them trimmed back; Leylandii can put on 60-90 cm of growth annually. The best thing is to prune them regularly, as they will not produce new growth from old wood. Consider re-trimming them again in October.

As water becomes a precious commodity, we can do much to save water use in our gardens. Things to consider are water butts, mulching borders with organic matter – making sure the soil is moist beforehand. Water plants that really need it, particularly newly planted trees, shrubs and other plants, also try to water early in the morning or late in the evening, thereby preventing evaporation.