Island Life Magazine Ltd August/September 2008 | Page 78

life

GARDENING

Summer's
here and the
garden is in
full bloom

LAVENDER

Gill Scott from Thompson's reflects on
the joys of summer gardening and the
rewards of the vegetable garden

N

ow that summers
arrived and all
the hard work of
planting tubs, baskets and
borders has been done it’s time
to keep them looking their best
for the rest of the season.
If we have a dry spell,
water well and regularly dead

head flowers to encourage a
succession of blooms. If you
have an empty spot crying out
for colour it’s still not too late
to fill them with a few extra
plants or buy a ready planted
tub or basket.
In the fruit and vegetable plot
regularly pick fruit and veg

little and often to encourage
more crops to be formed, water
well.
Tomatoes and peppers need
a good high potash feed once
fruit have started to form to
encourage more fruiting.
Peas, courgettes, marrows,
tomatoes, runner and french

beans should all be cropping
now.
Continue to sow, lettuce,
radish and spring onions every
two weeks for a home grown
supply of salad. Plant potted
herbs which add to that special
taste of summer.
As summer fades into

No Lavender
blues at Chelsea
for Island growers
This years Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea
Flower Show held in May brought success for
an Island company.
Isle of Wight Lavender is
celebrating receiving a Silver
Medal in show. The theme
of the garden, which was in
the small garden section of
the show, was based on the
children’s nursery rhyme
'Lavender’s blue,dilly,dilly,
lavender’s green, dilly, dilly.
When I am king, dilly, dilly, you
shall be queen; '

78

Thrones, crowns and a plough
formed the central display in a
variety of lavenders. The colours
ranged from white and pink,
through pale lilacs to deep
indigo blues. A fragrant cart
was filled with lavender. Isle of
Wight Lavender has consistently
achieved a high standard
winning the Silver Medal for the
third successive year.

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