Chandler’s Ford community

Mow lawns regularly now, but think about leaving some areas long for wildlife and to encourage flowers to bloom. Reseed bare patches or lay turf. Tie in climbing and rambling roses, sweet peas and clematis as they climb. Summer bedding can be planted out towards the end of the month.

[Read more…] about Wellie’s Gardening Tips for May 2025

Check roses for blackspot, remove any infected leaves and treat with a fungicide. Sow hardy annuals and wildflowers in gaps in the garden. Feed borders with a general purpose fertiliser such as Growmore and mulch with compost or well rotted manure.

Plant summer bulbs such as alliums, eucomis and lillies. Cut back Penstemons now. Take a close look before pruning, some produce a mass of new shoots at the base of the plant, so old stems should be cut back close to the soil.

When new growth is visible only along the stems, trim them to 15-20cm from the ground, just above a shoot.

To encourage bushy growth on Marguerites, Pelargoniums and Fuchsias in the greenhouse, pinch out the tips. Spray weeds on driveways and paths this month when they are actively growing. Use a spring/summer feed on the lawn (it should be high in nitrogen to encourage strong leafy green swards) Carry on sowing vegetables directly into prepared soil including carrots, turnip, peas, broadbeans, spinach and lettuce. Sow tender courgettes, cucumbers and pumpkins in a heated propagator or sunny window sill.

Plant out autumn sown sweet peas.

Cut back herbaceous perennials and ornamental grasses that have been left over winter. Prune Buddleja to a low framework of stems to encourage new flowering growth. Split over crowded herbaceous perennials to keep them flowering well. Feed ericaceous shrubs such as rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias and pieris with an ericaceous fertilizer.

[Read more…] about Wellie’s Gardening Tips for March 2025

This is the last opportunity to carry out winter pruning on apple and pear trees. Cut autumn raspberry canes to ground level ensuring you leave no stumps that could harbour disease.

Prune out a quarter of blackcurrant older growth at ground level. Apply a general purpose fertiliser to tree, bush and cane fruit and mulch with well-rotted manure or garden compost.

[Read more…] about Wellie’s Gardening Tips for February 2025

Time to plan what you want to do to your garden over the coming year. Look at seed catalogues and order which seeds. Wash pots and seed trays so they are clean and ready for using in the coming year. Clean your greenhouse to let in more light over the winter months.

Cut back deciduous grasses to allow new shoots to emerge freely. Plant bare-rooted trees and shrubs now. Cut back foliage of helleborus to show off their beautiful flowers. Sow early peas such as ‘Feltham First’ for harvesting in May/June. Broad beans can be sown inside now, to plant out in February. [Read more…] about Wellie’s Gardening Tips for January 2025

I was sitting down to write my garden piece for December and for whatever reason it came into my head to try and find 12 plants that represent the song Twelve days of Christmas…..So hear goes.

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me……

First Day – a partridge in a pear tree – Pyrus communis (pear tree) I know an easy first one!

[Read more…] about Wellie’s Gardening Tips for December 2024

Prune roses to prevent wind-rock and this is also the time to prune most deciduous trees, but a lot of deciduous ornamental grasses can be left until the spring. Prune grapevines after leaf fall, but before the end of December to avoid ‘bleeding’ of sap. Prune Acer (maple) species now as well to avoid them bleeding from the cut stems once the sap rises in the spring.

Now is the ideal time to plant bare rooted plants.

[Read more…] about Wellie’s Gardening Tips for November 2024

The temperatures are now dropping and the nights are drawing in, so it is important to get as many jobs done in the garden before it gets too cold. Wallflowers can be planted now. Continue planting spring flowering bulbs. Cut back herbaceous perennials that have died down.

Split and divide older clumps of overgrown perennials. Prune [Read more…] about Wellie’s Gardening Tips for October 2024

Lawns: sow new lawns or repair damaged patches. If sowing small areas, net to protect the seed from birds. Apply an Autumn weed and feed.

Fruit and Vegetables: Harvest apples now when they easily come off the tree when gently twisted. Sow winter salads such as lamb’s lettuce. Plant hardy onions eg Senshyu Yellow. Double your strawberry patch by pegging runners from the plants into pots filled with compost and keep them watered until they are rooted then cut them away from parent plant.

Dead head faded blooms, but leave some to turn into seedheads for the birds. Trim lavender plants by removing flower stalks and about 2.5cm of the current year’s growth. Hoe to keep on top of any weeds. Prune the wispy growth on wisterias, back to 5-7 leaves.

Prune climbing and rambling roses after they have flowered, unless they are repeat flowering. Prune summer flowering shrubs after they have flowered. Cut down wildflower meadows. Ensure Camellias and Rhododendrons are well-watered to encourage good flower bud formation next spring.

[Read more…] about Wellie’s Gardening Tips for August

Prune early-summer flowering shrubs, such as Philadelphus, once they have finished flowering. Cut back flowered growth to a strong lower shoot and thin out up to a fifth of old, woody stems. Cut back hardy geraniums to ground level after they have had their first flush of flowers to encourage new foliage and more flowers later in the year.

Divide congested clumps of bearded iris after flowering. Dead head bedding plants, roses and herbaceous plants to encourage more flowers. Make sure fruit trees and bushes are well watered to support the developing fruits. Stone fruit trees such as plums and cherries can be pruned this month.

[Read more…] about Wellie’s Gardening Tips for July

Pinch out tips of new growth on figs at the end of month, when the shoots have 5 leaves. Stop cutting asparagus now and topdress with a general purpose fertilizer. Regularly pinch out side shoots of cordon tomatoes. Summer prune gooseberries.

Sow salad crops at 2 week intervals. Plant out pumpkins and squashes, put straw around strawberries. [Read more…] about Wellie’s Gardening Tips for June

Hoe borders to remove weed seedlings. Mow lawns regularly now, apply a weed, feed and moss treatment if not already done. Sow lawns or lay turf. Spray paths for weeds. Prune spring-flowering shrubs such as Choisya and Ribes after flowering. Check for nesting birds before trimming any hedges. Tie in climbing and rambling roses as near to horizontal as possible. Tie in shoots of clematis and sweet peas as they climb.

Trim back Alyssum, winter flowering heathers and Aubrieta after flowering to encourage fresh growth. Plant out summer bedding towards the end of the month, after all risk of frost have gone. Watch out for slug and snail damage. [Read more…] about Wellie’s Gardening Tips for May