July Gardening Guide

A ‘Busman’s holiday’ is a relatively new term to me and it turns out I was lucky enough to go on one earlier this month. I’ve learned that the secret to a successful holiday for me is to take some good friends who are equally as garden-centric and visit some of your absolute favourite outdoor spaces. We decided to head down to Kent to visit the likes of Sissinghurst, Great Dixter, Chartwell and many more.

Whilst strolling through these inspirational spaces, I noticed that each garden we visited had the most beautiful fig trees. I’m a huge fan of mixing edibles in with ornamental borders, I find the pure joy of wandering through your garden and being able to pick fruit warm from the summer sun is just divine. The term ‘edimentals’ has been created for just that scenario. An edimental is an edible plant that’s also ornamental so fits in beautifully amongst the flowers in a border. The variety of fig that I often use for this is Ficus carica ‘Brown Turkey’ as the foliage is superb (BIG love heart eyes from me) and they produce fruit like no shop bought fig you’ve ever tasted.

Fig tree at Sissinghurst

 In relation to the design of the gardens we visited, they’re all constructed SO differently, from the materials used in hard landscaping to planting styles, yet they all have one overarching design feature in common. They’ve each been designed with the route of flow in mind. There are no dead ends, no paths that lead to nowhere and no awkward forgotten corners. A visitor’s experience wandering through these gardens has been delicately considered in each one.

One of the first thing I need to know when designing a garden, is how my client wants to use their outdoor space – let’s use Susan as an example. Susan’s children are all grown up and have recently flown the nest, so Susan now wants to focus on using her garden for entertaining friends and family. On her wishlist, there’s an outdoor kitchen/bbq and dining area, a quiet seating area to enjoy her morning coffee and also a bench sit on whilst watching the evening sunset.

Each of these spaces need to be easily reached and spread out so they each have their own defined area. They also need to be placed in the most appropriate are of the garden which requires a little thought. For example, the dining area ideally needs to be next to the outdoor kitchen, which subsequently needs to be close(ish) to the indoor kitchen. Having your BBQ right at the back of the garden to enjoy the views back towards the house sounds lovely until you’re on your fifth trip back and forth walking the length of your garden lugging food and drinks with you.

Climbing rose at Water Lane (best brunch I’ve ever had)

 There are many practicalities to be considered for each area of the garden, of course, but there also needs to be some creativity too. Consider how you’re going to move from one space to another? This is what the Sissinghurst/Great Dixter/Chartwell gardens do beautifully, they take you on a journey. The zoned spaces in Susan’s garden don’t need to be direct ‘A to B’ destinations, I want her to enjoy the walk through the garden, lengthening the journey and subsequently make the garden feel bigger than it is. We create pathways that take you around a planting bed rather than cut through it, we create height with our planting to create intrigue as the next zone is only revealed once you’ve turned the corner etc.

You may be thinking that this kind of design would only work in a large garden, however with a well thought out design, you can create a zoned garden in the smallest of spaces.

Now a garden redesign might not be on the cards for you this month, so in the meantime here are some tasks you might like to get up to in your garden this weekend…

Give your deciduous magnolia a trim

Magnolias that shed their leaves in the winter only really need trimming to keep them in shape. Any time from mid-summer to autumn is the best time to take out any dead, damaged or diseased branches as well as any that are rubbing together.

Sow some leafy greens

Lettuces and such are really quick crops to sow, grow and harvest at this time of year which can make you feel very accomplished in a short space of time. Sowing in a large pot could be a good idea so you can keep them out of the way of anyone else who might like a nibble.

Tidy up Alchemilla

Alchemilla mollis is a really great perennial for their frothy limegreen flowers and hardy nature. At this point of the year they can get a little floppy (especially with the downpours we’ve had recently). Give the plants a good trim and you’ll be rewarded with another flush of flowers in a few weeks.

Feed your dahlias

Dahlias have made such a huge comeback in recent years, with some incredible varieties to choose from. If you have indeed chosen some for your garden this year, make sure you’re feeding them with a liquid fertiliser which is high in potassium – a good tomato plant feed is good for this. As with all watering, make sure you’re soaking the soil and not the foliage and it’s best to do it early in the morning or late at night so you don’t risk scorching the leaves.

A trip to the cinema for ‘Wilding’

I didn’t envisage I’d be adding a film to your July garden jobs but I found it so inspiring I couldn’t not mention it. The film is based on the book by Isabella Tree called ‘Wilding’ in which she tells their story of how they rewilded their West Sussex estate, Knepp Farm. We’re talking free range native ponies, cattle and pigs as well as the first breeding pair of white storks in the wild for many years. Incredible.

Create any excuse for a party

This summer has been… well we won’t go into it but I just want to give you a little reminder that on the days that we DO have nice weather, make the most of it! It might mean a very last minute invitation or two but get outside and enjoy it. And remember, a garden party is all about the people and the experience, don’t wait until you have the perfect pizza oven and stylish garden furniture – a cheap disposable bbq and some chairs brought out from inside will do perfectly well!

Make sure you don’t get bogged down in all the garden chores this summer – if you only have an hour available on any given day, you’re much better off enjoying that hour in your garden rather than feeling obligated to work in it. If you happen to pick up your secateurs and have a snip here and there then that’s all good but if you get consumed in your book and the sunshine, then even better!