Come June and July, summer is here and we get the chance to spend more and more time in the garden as the nights are warmer and lighter, letting us enjoy the colour and smells of the season.

It is important to keep areas in drives and pathways clear as deep rooted weeds can cause uneven surfaces and can also spread to your lawn and borders. There are a number of products available containing acetic or pelargonic acid to control weeds in this way.

There are a few jobs to keep you busy though, keeping your lawn tidy is one of the biggest at this time of year. If you have a wee patch of grass in your garden you can get away with mowing it once a week or even once a fortnight. Some people however, have lawns that take up most of the garden, they see it as the easy option with no digging or weeding of beds, this is ok until you have to cut it. For a small or not so major plot of grass a rotary mower is ideal, it also helps if you have a box fitted to collect the cuttings. However, if you want stripes on your lawn like a bowling green it is best to use a cylinder mower, these are usually larger and heavier machines, but make a lovely job. Finally, when tending to your grass it always helps to trim the edges with good, sharp edging shears. This just finishes off the look of your lawn and can help make the difference between a grassy patch in amongst beds and paths and a lawn area framed by flower beds you want to look at and show off.

Of course, if the weather is as good as it should be the biggest and most important task is watering. It is always best to do this first thing in the morning or in the evening when the sun isn’t as strong and it is a bit cooler or you run the risk of scorching the garden. If you have a greenhouse it is even more important to check the watering as the build-up of heat inside can get to hot it is like an oven. Ventilation is also very important for a greenhouse as it saves the build-up of heat, condensation and the chance of pests and diseases taking over your crop.

Feeding is another major job, although liquid feeding like Tomato Fertiliser can be added when you are doing the watering. You can also use granulated fertiliser like Growmore or Chicken Pellets to feed your beds, just lightly fork or hoe them in when you are weeding. The feeding will work its way through the soil when the moisture of the bed breaks down the granules.

Unfortunately, there are always weeds growing and competing for fertile ground you are tending. Like a lot of things, if you keep on top of weeding it becomes easier, it just depends how fussy you are and how much time you want to spend working in the garden.

Disbudding and dead-heading are other jobs which let you enjoy the flowers helping them to be at their best. Any spent flowers should be removed, by doing this there will be no bits left to die off and look untidy. Sweet Peas benefit the most from this as the more you pick, the more flowers you get. This also gives you the added bonus of having the beautiful scent and colour of them in your house to enjoy at any time.

Susan Boyd