In the Garden: Watering is key right now

AS we sail in June, somehow it feels a lot further into summer than it actually is. It is pretty early in the season for so much sun and so little rain.

June is always one of the most anticipated months of the year, with vegetables coming into production and herbaceous perennials starting to produce much-awaited colour.

White flowers are looking magnificent in the garden now, particularly at twilight as the light is fading - they have the effect at this time of year of lighting up the garden.

Sweet rocket, whitethorn, common valerian, ox eye daisy and Viburnum ‘Snowball’ are all catching my attention with their illuminating qualities.

The garden is so full of promise right now, and how wonderful that the sunshine has arrived in spades to enhance our enjoyment. 

We wait and wait for growth to get going and then all of sudden (or so it seems) everything is gone into overdrive and it seems impossible to keep up with the pace of growth.

It’s a hectic time of year as we try to keep everything moving, and also a really rewarding time as we see the results of all our efforts and planning get growing.

May can be unpredictable, with the first half invariably resulting in fluctuating temperatures, and it usually takes until the end of that months for things to settle down and growth to get rocking and rolling.

This year, the second half of May has well and truly been summer-like and now, at the beginning of June, we have the whole summer ahead to look forward to and are hopeful of some good settled weather.

This warm and sunny spell does bring its own challenges and chief amongst them for gardeners is watering. Certainly, the use of water butts to collect rainwater from down pipes is a good idea and this water can be used in the garden over the summer months.

The priority for watering for me is edibles, potted plants and newly planted trees and shrubs.

The key to watering is to give a good thorough soak less often, rather than giving a little sprinkle every day - this is particularly true for newly- planted trees as it will help to take the roots down into the soil, which will hasten their independence.

Pots will need to be watered regularly, depending on the pot size - smaller pots will dry out more quickly. It is essential that pots are not allowed to dry out completely as this will stress plants and it can take some time and effort to rehydrate the growing medium.

Incorporating some organic matter like leaf mould or garden compost into the potting mix will improve water retention and this will benefit plants over sunny summer months.

The timing of watering is also an important consideration - early morning and late evening are the best when the day is cooler as there will be less water lost through evaporation.

Aim to water the soil, giving it a good soaking, as it will soak up through the roots, giving the plant a good drink.

Watering the foliage may result in scorching if done at the warmest time of the day, so avoid this.

At best, watering the leaves will perk up the foliage temporarily, but if the growing medium is not soaked, then wilting may result.

There have been plenty of hardened off seedlings and transplants planted out into the ground over the last few weeks, so do keep an eye on these and ensure they are watered regularly.

Any protected environment like a polytunnel or glasshouse is getting up into the 40s celsius on these sunny days, and watering the plastic and glass and damping down the paths can help to cool things down and give plants some respite.

Good ventilation is key now as well, so open doors and vents to ensure as much air circulation as possible. A fan is also a good idea to keep air flow moving and create a cooling effect for plants.

Having a mesh door for the summer months in polytunnels and glasshouses is great for preventing any cats/dogs/foxes accessing it, while allowing good airflow.

Fruit is starting to form now on apples, pears, apricots, peaches, nectarines and grapes, to name a few, and they will benefit from a soak to the roots to aid in swelling fruit if there is no rain in the foreseeable future.

This is particularly true of newly-planted trees that have not extended their roots as much and have to work harder to obtain water from the soil.

The roses are just loving this dry and sunny weather, and after a good feed and mulching this spring, they are producing blooms in abundance. Keep dead-heading to encourage more flower formation, and some climbing roses may need tying in as new growth is emerging.

Happy Summer Gardening!

Plant of the Week

Ox eye daisy, or Leucanthemum vulgare, is a native wildflower making an appearance in our roadside verges, wildflower meadows and gardens at the moment.

It is a perennial plant that has a long flowering period from May until September.

The flowers comprise white rays surrounding a butter yellow disc of florets and can get to about 80cm tall.

This is a great plant to spread vegetatively by rhizomes and also through seed production.

It can colonise large areas of ground, preferring full sun to partial shade in a free-draining soil.

A successful competitor in a grassland setting, making this a valuable plant for inclusion in wildflower areas.