It’s time to bring out the hanging baskets but if yours are not already filled, then make the task easy by first balancing the basket on a bucket for stability, filling with compost and adding some upright plants, frothy fillers and trailing greenery. Soak the basket thoroughly before hanging the water daily or even more frequently in hot spells and deadhead regularly. Apply a liquid feed every week for sustained flowering.

 

TOP TIP

Make more camellias by selecting a stem growing near the base of the plant.Make an incision along the lower side of the stem, running through a leaf node, and wedge open. Peg this part down in a shallow trench and cover with soil then tie the tip of the stem to cane to ensure that it grows upwards. When roots have formed the stem can be cut away and repotted to form a new plant.

Scottish Gardener:

WHAT TO DO NOW

  • Earth up potatoes as they grow.
  • Delay cutting hedges until bird nesting season is over.
  • Squash greenfly but don’t spray them as they are an important source of food for ladybirds.
  • Make regular sowings of salad leaves to keep up a continuous supply.
  • Stake top-heavy perennials such as peonies to prevent them from collapsing.
  • Improve drainage in compacted lawns by aerating them with a garden fork.
  • Tie in climbing roses, stretching the shoots horizontal to encourage better flower formation.
  • Feed perennial plants in containers with a liquid feed and repeat fortnightly.
  • Mulch around climbers to prevent them from drying out in the arid spots at the base of walls.
  • Before moving plants from the greenhouse permanently outdoors, continue to give them protection at night until they are fully acclimatised.
  • Move houseplants from windowsills, where they could be scorched, to bright positions out of direct sunlight.
  • Water hanging baskets thoroughly by sitting in them in a bucket of water until they are saturated.
  • Weed vegetable beds regularly to prevent young plants being starved of water and nutrients.
  • Pinch out the growing tips of mint to encourage plants to become bushy.