Looking for the ultimate summer gardening guide for budding green thumbs? Then you’ve come to the right place. We all know every garden looks more beautiful during the summertime. Perhaps seeing gorgeous blooming gardens in public parks and your neighbours’ front yards has left you feeling inspired by what is possible in your own garden.
But it’s hard to become a green thumb overnight. Nevertheless, how much there is to learn should be exciting rather than daunting. If you’re feeling like you’re not sure where to start, this is the guide for you.
1. Keep Potted Plants Healthy
Potted plants, especially those in terracotta pots, can easily overheat during the hottest time of the year. Give your pots a light mulch and position them in a shadier position, if possible.
Another tip for keeping your potted plants healthy is to sit your pots in a saucer filled with sand. This helps water drain away and prevents root rotting.
2. Water Early
Plants need water most early in the morning so it has moisture to sustain it through a long hot day. On the other hand, watering in the evening leaves your garden with moisture overnight, which increases the risk of mildew and other fungi attacking leaves.
Get in the habit of watering first thing in the morning, hose in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other.
3. Water With Extra Nutrients
Be sure to water plants deeply and from time to time add dissolve soluble fertiliser and seaweed into the water. This will feed and strengthen your plants whilst correcting mineral deficiencies.
It’s a good idea to water potash into the base of fruit trees and flowering plants as the potassium heavy formula supports flower and fruit growth. This means you will have improved flavour and juiciness in your fruit trees and healthier blooms in your flowering plants.
4. Protect New Plantings
If you plant new life into your garden during summer, it can be hard for plants to establish themselves in the full swing of summer heat. To give them time to harden up to the sun, give them shelter 50% of the day for the first two weeks, using shade cloth or leafy branches.
Protecting new plants from the full force of the summer sun will give them time to establish themselves in their new home.
5. Install Irrigation Systems
It’s crucial to keep the water flowing during summer. Drip and sprinkler irrigation systems are both great for relieving the burden of watering and ensuring your garden is looked after in the heat.
On particularly hot summer days, your garden will appreciate being hosed down to keep cool. That doesn’t mean you need to water the garden deeply if you’ve already done so, but simply hosing down your plants’ leaves reduces their need to transpire water to cool themselves.
6. Keep Your Lawn Lush And Long
Too many people make the mistake of cutting their lawn very low thinking it will reduce the frequency with which they need to mow. Instead, this just leads to brown, bare and weed-infested lawns.
Instead mow your law as high as your lawn mower allows it. Longer blades of grass help to supress weeds and keep your lawn as healthy as possible in the heat.
It’s also a good idea to water your lawn with a foliar feed and seaweed tonic every month.
7. Get Rid Of Faded Flowers
If you deadhead your annuals, this will promote new blooms and help you get the most colour and vibrance out of these plants.
Make sure you remove spent flowers and seed pods from your perennials too. When you remove seed pods, the energy that a plant was directing toward seed generation will be redirected to producing new flowers instead.
8. Start An Autumn Veggie Garden
Don’t let your desire to learn more about gardening die with the summer! Instead, start planning for an autumn veggie garden so you have something to look forward to.
Start planting some cool-temperature-loving vegetable seeds, such as broccoli, carrots, lettuce and spinach.
9. Seek Out Inspiration for Your Summer Gardening Guide
The beautiful, warm weather means it’s the perfect time to go out in search of inspiration for your garden. That could mean visiting your local botanical gardens and parks and taking notice of what’s thriving.
Your local plant nursery is a great place to go to speak to experienced and knowledgeable horticulturalists who will gladly help a budding green thumb learn more about gardening. They can recommend new plants for you to add to your growing collection along with tips for keeping them healthy.
If you are excited by the prospect of developing your garden but need some help to get started, Everlast Services offer landscaping services for garden projects big and small. Get in touch today for a free, no-obligation quote to see how we can help your garden grow from not much into something beautiful. With expert help, you won’t even need our summer gardening guide.
