Toomers Tips for July Flowers

The National Self Build & Renovation Centre

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We speak to garden expert James Greenslade for advice on how to keep your summer blooms flowering

It might not feel like it, what with the rain, wind and generally poor weather, but there's no denying the fact that we're now in July.

However, you shouldn't let that stop you from getting out and tending to your garden, which will probably be in need of some TLC.

We spoke to garden expert James Greenslade to get some top tips on how to keep your summer blooms flowering for longer...

Extending the Flowering Season

This can be done in two ways. As well as selecting plants which flower later, some which flower in early or mid summer can be encouraged to flower again by trimming or pruning back.

Repeat flowering roses are best cut after flowering, by a few leaf joints, sometimes allowing two or more flushes of flowers. Old Hybrid Musk varieties, like Buff Beauty or Cornelia, can be cut harder as their second flush doesn't occur until early autumn.

Please ask Toomers if you would like to know more about pruning different types of roses

Many herbaceous plants, if trimmed back after flowering, will regrow quickly with fresh foliage and flowers. Some examples are Hardy Geraniums like "Brookside" or "Mrs Kendall Clarke", Nepeta (Catmint) and Achillea "Cloth of Gold".

Others simply need frequent de-heading to extend flowering, eg Knautia macedonica, Osteospermums and Hardy Fuchsias.

There are lots of plants which simply have their flowering season later in the summer, and once started, with good de-heading will bloom for an extended time.

Classics in this group include Gaillardia, Phlox, Japanese Anemones and Rudbeckia. Another couple of interesting ones we stock are Phlomis fruticosa with unusual yellow flowers and Ceratostigma plumbaginoides with deep blue flowers and good autumn colour.

For more information on plants, pets & horses, please visit the Toomers Garden Centre website via the link below.