Garden Work July 24th - 30th

At this point in the summer, many border perennials are looking decidedly tired, but timely action will rejuvenate them and coax some of them into a second flush of flower - not as spectacular as the first, but equally welcome. Tidy up bedraggled foliage and cut back spent flowering stems and, if you like, give them a restorative feed. Roses which flower throughout the summer should be dead-headed regularly with a sharp secateurs. With cluster-flowered or floribunda varieties cut out the whole truss of old blossom. With hybrid tea types snip the flowering stem back to where a healthy appears. Be sure to give them a feed also.