Amidst all the rain... the purple plants reign!

THE garden is bountiful as we head towards the end of July, with plenty of produce ready for harvest in the vegetable garden.

Tomatoes are ripening, there’s lettuce to be picked, potatoes to be dug, and cabbage heads are filling nicely.

It’s a great time of year in the garden, when we start to reap the rewards of our labour throughout the year.

There is also plenty of colour to admire everywhere, as the herbaceous perennials peak, producing a riot of colour that is keeping the pollinators busy on sunny days.

Our rather wet climate is such a favourable one for growing plants, we are lucky to be surrounded by lush green all around us when other parts of the world are parched and reaching uncomfortably high temperatures.

We may complain about the weather from time to time - especially after a month of rain - but our climate is one that is very kind to plant growth for the most part.

There has been some wind over the last while and some staking will benefit taller dahlias and asters and help them to perform through until the autumn.

April and May was quite a dry time and very little in the way of ‘Chelsea Chopping’ was undertaken - so-called because the pruning is carried out at the end of May, coinciding with the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

The consequence of that is that now some plants are taller and a little top heavy so they may benefit from some staking.

A little selective cutting back now can result in another flush of flower on many perennials like herbaceous geraniums, which can get a bit unruly as the summer rolls on.

Herbaceous geraniums are a great summer flowering staple, and some good cultivars for covering a lot of ground and flowering continuously with very little attention needed are Geranium ‘Ann Folkard’, ‘Rozanne’ and ‘Dreamland’. They are purple, blue and pink respectively, and their sprawling growth habit means that they cover the soil and so help retain moisture throughout the summer months, as well as suppressing weeds.

The biggest problem with them is keeping them confined to their assigned growing spaces as they pour out onto paths and driveways.

But they are easily brought under control and pruned so that in time they will produce further blooms.

Nepeta can also be freshened up with a quick trim and will produce a smaller fresh display of flowers which will take us into the autumn.

Lavenders are flowering at the moment and they are having a good year after a sunny, dry spell, which really suited them. They will also benefit from a trim once the flowers start going over, and this will keep the plants compact and avoid them becoming too woody and leggy.

Do not cut too hard into old wood as the plant will not recover, a light trim to remove the flowers will do the trick.

The spent flowers can be bunched and hung in a shed to dry, preserving the relaxing scent to enjoy throughout the year. Saving some bunches for drying is one of the benefits of cutting them back a bit earlier. They can be used to good effect in the hot press or the sock drawer to give the scents of summer throughout the year!

Topping up tomatoes with a mulch of fresh seaweed now can give them a boost while growth is still good. It also brings the distinctive smell of the sea into the polytunnel or glasshouse, to take us back to holiday memories as we tend the vegetables.

Regular weekly removal of side shoots, tying in and a liquid feed will ensure that a good crop is achieved and that plants do not become too leafy and overcrowded, which may result in problems with aphids or fungal diseases in protected environments.

The apple crop is looking good this year, with a heavy crop set on many trees. The ‘June drop’ did result in a natural thinning of what looks to be a heavy crop.

Some summer pruning of trained espaliers and fan-shaped fruit will be done over the next few weeks to keep growth in check.

The warm and sunny weather in has June hastened the flowering of a lot of plants, and it does feel like the garden somehow got a little bit ahead of itself during that fine month.

Since the weather has returned to a more usual Irish summer in the last few weeks, things have settled down somewhat.

The brambles flowered earlier this year and it certainly felt like the Crocosmia arrived a few weeks ahead of normal, with their vibrant shades of red, orange and yellow appearing to shock beds and borders into life!

Every year is so different in the garden and keeping a gardening diary can be an interesting and helpful way of comparing each year.

It’s also a great time for visiting gardens, with plants looking good, and where better to start than West Cork? There are 23 gardens featured on the West Cork Garden Trail this year, for more details check out www.westcorkgardentrail.com

Plant of the Week

Monarda, or the aptly named bee balm, is an attractive perennial plant and a member of the mint family.

Also known as bergamot, this plant has aromatic foliage and produces attractive whorled flowers in vibrant colours.

Monarda ‘Prarienacht’ bears vibrant violet flowers and will attract plenty of pollinators into the garden. It’s best grown in full sun or partial shade on a free draining soil.

This cultivar will get to about 90cm tall and a spread of about 60cm. Can suffer from mildew so best not to overcrowd planting, this can be difficult in a herbaceous border setting. A great addition to the summer border with the added bonus of having very pleasantly scented foliage.