Pat’s 10 jobs for July 2025

1. If herbs like thyme have finished flowering, trim them back to keep them compact and use the trimmings to do some cuttings.

2. Stake Dahlias before they get too tall and straggly or the stems may snap. Keep well watered in this dry weather.

3. To conserve water and before we get a hosepipe ban, just water around the roots of plants and mulch them if you can. Some are really suffering at the moment. So why not start sowing seeds of Eryngium giganteum ‘Miss Wilmott’s Ghost’ for a drought proof plant for next year? Loved by pollinators too.

4. Many plants like Nigella, Calendula and campion are going to seed early because of the dry weather, so remember to save some and store in paper envelopes when thoroughly dry.

5. Top dress pots with grit or gravel if you can, to conserve moisture, and don’t forget to feed things fortnightly with a seaweed feed and repot if necessary.

6. Prune early flowerers like Camellias and Weigela if finished, before they start making buds for next year. And apply a mulch.

7. On the veg plot remove sideshoots on cordon grown tomatoes. As usual I’ve planted mine too close together which isn’t good for air circulation!

8. Keep picking sweetpeas to keep them going and tie in stems to their supports. Keep well watered and fed.

9. So far the huge slugs on my plot have eaten two courgette plants and a squash, so I am now trying to plant in pots and even raise them up on bricks – but they will need plenty of water and food.

10. The hot weather has certainly bought out the butterflies, bees and hoverflies so plant with them in mind next year.

Happy gardening all!

Pat K