Tips on how to ensure that going on a summer holiday doesn't mean neglecting your garden- plus, find out what else needs doing in the garden this week.

By Hannah Stephenson


It's the same every year; the garden reaches its peak with borders bursting into bloom, patio plants beginning their dazzling displays, and fruits swelling in the vegetable garden - and then you go on holiday for two weeks...

Of course, if you have friendly neighbours or family nearby who can water and deadhead your plants while you're away, then you don't have much to worry about. Their reward can be harvesting some of your vegetables and eating them when they are fresh, or treating themselves to a bunch of cut flowers from your plot. If they help themselves to crops that need regular picking, like beans and courgettes, the plants should still be cropping well for when you return home too.

But if you don't have such kindly helpers, how are your plants going to manage in your absence? Luckily, there are some measures you can take to help your plants survive for a while without you.

If you have patio plants, water them well before you go away, maybe even dunking the pot into a bigger bucket of water so it soaks the compost completely from below, then put all the pots together (this encourages humidity) in a shady spot so there's less evaporation while you're away.

If you have space, dig a small hole in the border soil in a shady spot and rest your hanging basket in the hole, watering it well so it is completely soaked. Some of the escaping water will moisten the soil underneath, helping keep your plants damp in your absence.

If you haven't invested in automatic irrigation systems you can set up a temporary automatic watering system by submerging strips of capillary matting in a trug full of water and then running the end of the strips to your containers. The matting absorbs and holds water which can be drawn up by the soil in the pots. Set the system up a week before you go to ensure it's working.

Alternatively, cover the soil surface with water-absorbing gel, watering it so that it swells and absorbs water. This provides a protective barrier to stop water evaporating from the compost and also gives the compost some moisture. The crystals will also soak up and hold moisture if it rains while you're away.

Remove all open flowers from healthy bedding plants so they produce a flush of new blooms on your return and feed them with a liquid fertiliser, following the instructions on the packet. Don't be tempted to give them any extra feed. You can take the shears to some annuals, trimming off the old blooms to make way for new buds to develop, which should give you some colour on your return.

You can also cover container plants with greenhouse shade netting to reduce water loss - but don't do this in the front garden or it will act as a message that you're away from home.

Cut the grass and trim the edges before you go and it will survive quite happily without you. If it's long on your return, don't cut it short immediately or it will turn yellowy brown. Instead, raise the mower blades for the first cut and gradually lower them over the next two or three.

Established borders should be all right without water for a week or two, as the roots of established plants will go deep into the soil for moisture. However, make sure you weed before you go, as weed seedling can soon take over. Give the area a good water and then mulch with organic matter to help retain the moisture.

Hopefully, you will return from your break to find a garden not as tired as it might have been, and ready to be revived.


Best of the bunch - Cosmos

These dainty annuals, with their feathery leaves and large, daisy-like flowers in shades of pink and white, are easy to grow from seed and make a great addition to the border. They fill in spaces where earlier summer blooms have faded and are also great for cutting.

There are many varieties, some of which grow to around 1.8m (6ft) although the more common types in garden centres at this time of year grow to around 60cms (2ft).

There are also perennial types, most notably the now-famous Cosmos atrosanguineus, a chocolate-scented, bronze-flowered type which is often grown in borders alongside deep red dahlias and sizzling orange crocosmias.

Cosmos thrive in moist but well-drained soil in full sun. Deadhead them regularly to encourage further flowers, which can last until October. Good choices include 'Gazebo Mixed', featuring large blooms in velvet red, rose-pink and pure white, and C. bipinnatus 'Dazzler', which is carmine.


Good enough to eat - Hyssop

You may have trouble finding this Mediterranean herb in a supermarket, but the blue, white or pink flowers are lovely in salads or drinks, while the leaves can be used fresh, dried or preserved in olive oil.

This aromatic plant, which is a magnet for butterflies and bees, will thrive in a sunny spot against a south-facing wall and can be grown in any pot of 30cm (12in) diameter or more, with plenty of drainage and light, well-drained compost mixed with grit.

When the flowers appear, feed regularly with comfrey fertiliser and deadhead the plant regularly to keep the hyssop flowering.

Plants need to be protected in winter with horticultural fleece if temperatures fall below -5C (23F).


Three ways to... Store your produce

1. Dry onions, shallots and garlic, then store them in a frost-free shed or garage, keeping them in net bags hung up so the air can circulate around them.

2. Only freeze top quality, fresh produce, so aim to pick and freeze the same day. Freeze leaf beet, carrots, French beans and broccoli.

3. You can leave some produce in the ground until you need it, including carrots, leeks, parsnips and beetroot, but when winter comes cover the vegetables with cloches or fleece to protect them from frost damage.


What to do this week

:: Prune larger-leaved evergreens including laurel

:: Remove rose blooms as soon as they fade, cutting right back to a bid in a leaf axil to ensure the plant retains good shape and continues to flower later in the year

:: Pick flowers such as sweet peas and dahlias to encourage further flowering

:: Divide overcrowded and congested clumps of rhizomatous iris, carefully lifting each clump and then dividing them into separate chunks with a sharp knife. Replant immediately in a sunny site

:: Give hardy geraniums a haircut with shears to help them stay compact

:: Cut lavender for drying, just before the buds open fully, and tie them in loose bunches, hanging them upside down in a well-ventilated, warm spot

:: When the foliage of garlic starts to yellow, the bulbs should be ready for lifting

:: Regularly remove side shoots from tomatoes

:: Keep recently laid lawns well watered at all times

:: Continue to sow salad plants such as rocket, lamb's lettuce and claytonia. If you want baby leaves, don't thin them out, just snip off the leaves when they are a suitable size

:: Prune summer-fruiting raspberries as soon as they finish cropping

:: Top up water levels in ponds if necessary

:: Peg down runners on strawberry plants to create new plants if you didn't do so earlier