THE MODERN MINT BLOG
Garden Jobs July
So many garden jobs in July. But the first garden job in July? Stop your weeding and mowing for a moment and SMELL THE ROSES!
(You’ve got to enjoy your garden too, no…?)
What other jobs are worth doing in the garden now July is here?
Start with pruning the fruit trees that have st0nes, like cherries and plums.
Remember to water your pots.
Remove suckers from lime trees and lightly prune any plants you are trying to pleach.
Deadhead and feed the roses.
Weedkill and feed the lawns. If you really must.
Take a look at any spring flowering shrubs and cut them back to shape now, right after they have finished flowering.
Deadhead in your herbaceous border – got Delphiniums? Well done! Impressed! Cut the spent flower now and enjoy a second, smaller flower soon…
Harvest in the fruit patch – strawberries, raspberries, cherries and gooseberries are amazing to eat now!
Start eating the broad beans…
To be fair… July is a great month for jobs in the garden…
For more detailed information, try one of these books from Amazon:
(And this one from Alan Titchmarsh, priced at £24, can be found for just 1p! Good if you are a beginner for all the advice you need about garden jobs for July…)
Modern Topiary, the Book, at Garden Media Guild
My book about topiary, Modern Topiary, has been mentioned on the Garden Media Guild newsletter…. As the screenshot says, the book can be read for free online here. At the bottom of the screenshot, it looks like another Garden Media Guild member has a book out called ‘A Year In A Cottage Garden’…. so if that is where your garden heart lies, check that out too! And at the top of the screenshot, it looks like I was listening to Pelleas et Melisande, by Debussy. What a classy chap I am, listening to classical music as I reply to emails. …
Start of the Whitby Topiary Library
I have been offered a space here in the centre of Whitby, south-facing aspect, with some raised beds in, so that I can make a Topiary Library. In my head, a topiary library is a place to showcase the common (and then not so common) shapes you can make out of topiary. With classical topiary plants, as well as some more unusual pieces. This Topiary Library can act as a reference for people to learn more about pruning and clipping. The space is small but the aspect is great and the beds are deep enough to put some plants in. …
Delivery After Dark – From the Makers of The Amelia Project
Last week I spent most nights stood in cold water streams on the moors of North Yorkshire, helping to film a new project called Delivery After Dark from the makers of the Amelia Project. I worked on the Amelia Project back at the end of 2024, lending my terrible vocal talents to a small part in the episode Didius Julianus. But this project is something new – and exciting! – and thankfully only needed me to be filmed, rather than to actually say anything. But not only did I have to stand in cold moving water at midnight, I also …