GINA PARKINSON on how to fill the dull lull of late summer.

IT IS hard to believe this glorious summer is almost over. There is still plenty of heat in the sun, but the length of time it can be enjoyed is getting shorter, punctuated with chilly mornings and evenings either side of a warm day.

Lawns are dew-covered in the morning and daddy-long-legs and spiders are about in abundance.

Our garden is beginning to fill with a bit more colour as the later-flowering plants bloom. We have a dull lull at the end of July and into August, which is slowly being addressed as grasses and Michaelmas daisies are acquired and planted for late-season interest.

Ironically, the Michaelmas daisy that is making most impact at the moment is an old favourite of mine, Aster frikartii ‘Monch’ which is usually at its best in July and August.

Newly planted this summer, this recent addition to the garden is in full and glorious flower later than usual this year, probably due to the delayed planting. I’m sure next summer it will follow the usual timetable, but for this year it is just lovely to see the lavender blue daisies each time I walk past to and from the front door.

September jobs

DAHLIAS will be coming to their most floriferous this month and need to be deadheaded regularly to keep the flowers coming.

Grown in an open sunny spot, these are great plants to use for cut flowers and will welcome regular cropping for the house.

I’ve grown dahlias in two beds this year, a semi-shaded spot under a branching shrub and an open sunny site in the vegetable garden. The idea was to crop those in the latter site and keep the ones in the former spot for garden colour.

However, those in semi-shade have been beset by slugs and snails that have crawled up the stems and nibbled the flower buds hardly before they’ve formed, so flowering has been sporadic.

Out in the veg patch, the plants have had to tough out a cold winter left in the ground so have taken longer to get going. However, the strong, bushy plants that eventually developed are providing a decent amount of flowers to cut for indoors.

At this time of year, I look out for plant bargains in the market or garden centres and nurseries.

Next spring I am planning on completely changing some of the flower beds in our garden. They are overrun with self-seeded perennials and the soil could do with bulking up.

As the beds have yet to be prepared, any new plants have been divided where possible and potted into bigger containers filled with fresh compost. Here they will stay until next spring.

Although I have to wait to plant, autumn is the traditional time for putting new perennials into the garden. The soil is warm and the plants have time to get settled before they become dormant.

Hardy annuals can also be put in this month, but they are sown as seed rather than as young plants. Clear the areas of weeds and twigs and lightly turn over the surface of the soil to break down any lumps. Then sow the seeds and cover with a thin layer of soil. Water in with a fine rose and label.

The vegetable garden

Late summer harvest continues in our vegetable patches and allotments with sweetcorn about in abundance this year.

This plant responds to temperature rather than lengthening day, which is why it is planted in early summer and grows rapidly as temperatures rise.

The tall stems grow amazingly quickly and, if planted in the required block rather than row, the wind will pollinate each one. I put in a dozen this year each of which is carrying a couple of cobs so sweet corn is definitely on the menu for the next couple of weeks.

 

Open Gardens

Tomorrow

In aid of the National Gardens Scheme.

3, Pilmoor Cottages, Pilmoor, YO61 2QQ, 20 miles north of York. A two-acre informal garden with a wide range of plants collected by the plantaholic owners who are unable to pass by the opportunity to acquire a new specimen for their garden. The garden also contains a rockery, ponds, clock golf putting green and miniature railway.

 

Gardening TV and Radio

Tomorrow

7.45am, BBC2, Around the World in 80 Gardens. Monty Don visits South Africa.

8am, BBC Radio Humberside, The Great Outdoors. With Blair Jacobs and Doug Stewart.

8.45am, BBC2, Gardeners’ World. Advice on growing blackberries.

9am, BBC Radio York, Julia Lewis. Out and about in Yorkshire gardens.

9am, BBC Radio Leeds, Tim Crowther and Joe Maiden.

9.15am, BBC2, The Beechgrove Garden. A visit to a community garden in Inverness.

2pm, BBC R4, Gardeners’ Question Time. The team answer questions from visitors to the GQT Summer Party 2013.

Friday

3pm, BBC R4, Gardeners’ Question Time. The audience at Ness Gardens on the Wirral have questions answered by Matt Biggs, Bob Flowerdew, Anne Swithinbank and James Wong. The chairman is Peter Gibbs.

8.30pm, BBC2, Gardeners’ World. Topics include autumn lawn care, miniature bulbs and a meadow plant that is gaining popularity in the garden.