Four ways to tend to the garden you’ve been ignoring all year so far

Too late in the season to start over but too early to let plants be, late January can be an awkward time in the garden. Things can turn tatty and tawny, just at the time we are spending the most time outside. And with months of outdoor weather still ahead, the problem will only get worse.

While you could never call mid-summer a peak period for gardening, it is not the time to down tools entirely either, especially if you are just back from holidays and have already ignored your patch since Christmas.

The best gardens are the ones that receive ongoing care, and any attention you lavish now will pay off over the coming months. Here’s how.

Deadheading flowers encourages energy to be directed towards growing new blooms.Credit: iStock

Deadhead your flowers

One of the fastest ways to revive a tired-feeling garden is to remove spent flowers. These old blooms might provide a welcome faded grandeur as we move into autumn (not to mention the seeds for a repeat show next year), but at this time of year, drying brown flowers can just bring the mood down.

Deadheading will also ensure the floral interest keeps coming by stopping plants from directing their energy into producing seeds – energy they can then put towards the production of new, vibrant blooms instead.

Marigolds, cosmos, zinnias, daisies, dahlias, salvias, roses and buddleias are just some of the plants that will flower more by having their dying flowers snipped off to just above a node on the stem below.

Some plants, like phlomis and santolina, won’t bloom again until next spring but will still look more lively and less parched when their drying flowers are cut back so that all that remains is fresh leafy mounds.

Euphorbias, too, can start looking bedraggled by this time of year. Even if you have already removed their flowers to prevent the seeding of small plants that you would otherwise have to weed out later, invariably, there will still be some old brown stems lowering the tone.

Lightly pruning other straggly looking shrubs, including westringia, correa, teucrium and sea box, will also keep them looking dense and leafy as summer stretches on. But save your most extreme cuts for early autumn, when the high heat has passed, and you won’t run the risk of stressing your plants.

Don’t forget about your fruit trees

Then there are fruit trees, some of which can also be trimmed at this time of year. Stone fruits that have finished fruiting and that you want to keep relatively compact are prime candidates.

While winter pruning encourages growth next season, summer pruning slows it down, which is especially useful for those with small city gardens or with trees that you would like to be able to net more easily. The process of summer pruning is the same as pruning at any other time of year: remove suckers at the base, vertical shoots off branches and any inward-facing or crossing branches. Then, shorten the branches that remain.

As for adding plant material, while it is hard to resist planting and sowing seeds whenever bare gaps appear, it’s never as easy in summer as it is in spring and autumn when conditions are gentler and more forgiving. When planting at this time of year, you need to ply the soil with organic matter to help it retain moisture and then water regularly.

During light drizzle can be the best time to water your garden.Credit: iStock

Plan your watering around the weather

As for watering more generally, make sure it counts. Try to water ahead of a string of hot, dry days so that your plants are well-prepared and always avoid watering in the heat of the day when the water will only evaporate before it works its way down to the roots. Opt for the early morning or evening instead.

Strange as it sounds, one of the best times to water is when it is already drizzling. Most light rainfall won’t even penetrate the surface of your garden beds, but watering at the same time means all the moisture sinks deeper, encouraging plant roots to work their way further into the soil.

Sit back and enjoy

Finally, make sure to find the time to sit outside and reap the rewards of all your gardening. For too many of us, our garden chairs are a concept only. Let’s start using them.

While we’re sitting we can always think about how to make our garden work even better next summer, especially areas that could do with more shade with the addition of trees or climbers.

Then, we might even start preparing areas for new planting by weeding and applying compost and mulch, which will help promote good soil health. Even in summer, it can be hard to sit still.

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