July is the month when all that hard work in the garden pays off. Flowers spill out of baskets and pots, borders are a riot of colour and the veg patch delivers its first harvests. However, before getting too comfy in the deckchair, there are still a few jobs to be done, says PA's Hannah Stephenson. There's the summer heat and threat of pests to contend with and a watering plan is needed if you're going on holiday. There's also the daily ritual of deadheading spent flowers and crops to be gathered. But July is about striking a balance – a little pottering and maintenance, while leaving plenty of time to sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labour.
1. Keep Watering
July is often dry, so it’s important to keep on top of watering. If you have to prioritise, give container plants and hanging baskets a good soak daily. You can leave mature borders a little longer as roots will find moisture deeper into the ground, but as soon as leaves start to wilt, don’t delay with watering. Try to water early in the morning when it’s cooler – and re-apply mulch to borders and pots to retain moisture.
2. Prepare for Holidays
If you're going away in July, see if friends or neighbours will take on watering duties. If not, group pots together in a cool, shaded spot where they can establish their own microclimate and give them a thorough soak before leaving. Put saucers under containers to retain water and ensure plants are exposed to elements, so they'll benefit if it rains. It could be worth installing an automatic irrigation system to ensure your plants survive while you're away – this can be as simple as a homemade self-watering setup. Then deadhead everything before leaving – including buds – and with luck there will be fresh blooms when you get back.
3. Prune Early-Flowering Shrubs
Prune shrubs that have already bloomed, such as forsythia, wisteria, weigela and philadelphus, and deadhead shrub roses, climbers and ramblers after flowering.
4. Watch Out for Pests and Diseases
A combination of high temperatures and moist air can result in infestations of aphids on the stems and buds of plants. Wash them off or remove with your thumb and fingers – with any luck their natural predators such as ladybirds will keep populations down.
5. Hoe Regularly
In a warm, damp July, weeds can emerge overnight, so give your borders a thorough hoe every few days to prevent weed seedlings establishing themselves. Do the same in gravel driveways and use a patio knife between paving slabs.
6. Feed Plants
By midsummer, many plants will require additional nutrients, particularly hungry plants such as roses, sweet peas and dahlias. Summer bedding and tender perennials in pots will have exhausted much of the nutrients from the compost you planted them in. One fertiliser which you generally can't go wrong with is tomato feed, which contains the necessary potash which all flowering plants need.
7. Take Semi-Ripe Cuttings
If you want to increase your stock, July is the ideal time to take semi-ripe cuttings from shrubs such as hydrangea, philadelphus and choisya. It’s easy to root them in pots of gritty compost under cover or even with a plastic bag over them, according to the RHS.
8. Begin Harvesting
If you got your tomatoes started early, the first fruits may be beginning to ripen in the greenhouse, but ensure you wait until they're fully red to get the best flavour. The same goes for other greenhouse-grown crops like peppers. In the vegetable patch, pick radish, rocket, courgettes, baby beetroot and French beans as they mature, or your beans will become tough and your courgettes will grow into marrows. If you've got a surplus of beans, blanch and freeze them. Pick raspberries, redcurrants, gooseberries and blackcurrants.
9. Cut Back Perennials
Trim early-flowering hardy perennials such as lady's mantle (alchemilla), hardy geraniums and catmint (nepeta), which have stopped flowering and will need tidying up; they may produce a second flush of blooms if you act now. Finished lupin stems can also be trimmed and might deliver a second flush of smaller flowers.
10. Continue to Sow
If space permits on your vegetable patch, keep sowing lettuce, oriental leaves, maincrop carrots, spring onions, spinach and beetroot. If you like peas, you could sow an early variety now to give you a harvest in late summer and early autumn.
11. Clean Up Your Pond
Clear algae, blanket weeds and debris from ponds to keep the water clear. Leaves and stems rot quickly in water and can disrupt the nutrient balance. Drape waterweeds over the pond's edge for several days to allow aquatic life to escape, then add it to the compost heap. And keep your pond topped up because water will evaporate in hot, sunny weather.
