In Gardeners World episode 17 2015, As the summer gathers pace and the weather starts to warm up, drought-tolerant plants really hit their stride. Monty Don shares some of his favourites from Longmeadow, and garden designer Adam Frost shows us how to build a gravel garden from scratch.
Gardeners World episode 17 2015:
Make comfrey feed
Comfrey makes an ideal plant food and is especially good for promoting flowers and fruit. Harvest the leaves from the base of established plants, chop them up and pack them tightly into a bucket. Fill the bucket with water and put to one side. The leaves will break down releasing a smelly brown liquid – you may want to put a lid on your container! In a few weeks, you can strain it and use the concentrate to make a foliar feed.
Keep sowing lettuce
To have a regular supply of lettuce, don’t forget to keep on sowing throughout the summer. Little and often is best. Regardless of whether you’re sowing into seed trays or directly in the soil, sprinkle the seeds thinly and keep them watered. And if you sow now, they should be ready for harvesting at the end of August.
Deadhead roses
With repeat-flowering roses, it’s worth deadheading them on a regular basis. Cut back to the next leaf. This will prevent the plant from forming seeds at the expense of further growth and flower development.
