I don’t often think about July as being the middle of winter, even though it is, of course, but once the shortest day is behind us, each day seems to have just that little bit more daylight as we edge our way towards spring. However, calendar-wise, it is absolutely the middle of winter and that means cold weather and slowed growth on your trees and shrubs. A good bit of sunshine has made the garden an absolute pleasure of late, although there’s been a bit too much of that icy wind for my liking.
You might have noticed that some of the bulbs have started to spring forth in the first signs of the coming season, with early daffodils, jonquils, bluebells and the like usually in bloom before winter’s end. Before that happens, however, there’ll still be plenty of leaves and other garden detritus being whipped up by those aforementioned icy winds. This means garden beds, lawns and entertaining areas could use some maintenance and preparation before spring does finally arrive. Getting started now, at the halfway point of winter, and you’ll have plenty of time to attend to anything at all in the garden that’s perhaps in need of some not-so-urgent attention.
Apart from a bit of a clean-up around the place, which may or may not include a pressure wash on potentially slippery paths, paving or decking, you’ll need to keep an eye out for winter weeds as they grow more prominent in lawns and in otherwise hibernating garden beds. Pruning your deciduous trees and shrubs should also be done at this time of the year and if you have the need to relocate any of them, then don’t dally too much longer as you’ll want them moved and bedded in nicely before the sap rises and the new growth begins in spring.
Of course, now is also an exciting time to add any new bare-root deciduous specimens to your garden, if you have the room or inclination to add a new feature tree or shrub. This is where those pre-prepared holes that you lovingly held in situ for just such an occasion now come in handy. But don’t despair if you’re not that organised, because you’ll find similar results from digging now and adding in a good amount of organic matter upon planting.
And with National Tree Day at the end of the month on July 27 (July 25 for schools), what better time to plant than now!
July jobs to do now:
- Weed and aerate lawns
- Health check deciduous trees/shrubs
- Pressure wash hard surfaces
- Rake up autumn leaves
