Maggies Blog July 2011

We keep hearing on the television that everything is going up in price and food is costing us more and more. All the more reason to grow your own vegetables and salad crops. You do not need a large patch, a patio planter would be fine for a few radish, onions and lettuce. Another idea is to grow vegetables in amongst the flowers in the borders- some dwarf beans have very pretty scarlet flowers. Why not give it a go? The act of picking home grown vegetables and eating them whilst still fresh from the soil is very satisfying.

I am pleased with the colour in my garden at the moment. All the bedding plants are planted out an are establishing themselves and spreading out to fill the spaces. It is nice to try mixing plants together so they grow through each other- a combination I like is lavender teamed with Alchemilla Mollis. The lavender looks stunning growing through the lime green.

Last month I wrote that I had to accept that some of the shrubs in my garden had still not sprouted, and were not now going to. I was going to dig them up but had not got round to it yet. However, some of them have suddenly put up new shoots. My verbenum shrub, for instance, has started to grow back right down at ground level. I have now cut it off close to the ground, to give the shoots plenty of space. It shows that in gardening one must not be too hasty.

The dahlia plants I put out recently were being eaten by slugs and snails so I have sprinkled a ring of crushed up eggshells round the plants to keep the pest at bay. If you put the empty eggshells onto a baking tray and put it into the bottom of the oven next time you are cooking something, it dries them out and makes them easier to crumble. It is a very green way of protecting young plants.

The marrow and courgette plants are beginning to flower well, but they do need plenty of water so remember to keep the soil around them moist in dry spells. I always sink a plant pot into the soil beside each plant which makes sure the water goes directly to the roots and ensures a good crop. They also benefit from a general fertiliser once the fruits are formed.

Happy Gardening!!