life
GARDENING
Sally studied horticulture at Duchy College, Cornwall (Bsc (Hons) Horticulture) before
breaking into gardening journalism.
Nasturtium
Mind the
gap
Sally Charrett
Late sowings of hardy annuals in any gaps of the border can keep that glorious
summer crescendo going. Sally Charrett gives her top 5, as well as tips for keeping
the garden looking primped and preened.
Centaurea
June and July are all singing, all
dancing months in the garden with
roses, clematis, lupins, lavender and
other stalwarts blooming profusely.
When these start to fade, later
flowering shrubs and perennials
can keep the garden looking good,
but a much cheaper way is to sow
hardy annuals. ‘Hardies’ are usually
sown in spring, and although some,
such as Nicotiana flower over a
long period, others tend to run out
of steam mid summer. By tossing
the gardening rule book aside, and
sowing certain annuals now, you can
have a fresh display right up until
the first frosts.
If left to self-seed, you’ll have a
display of annuals year after year
too. Not bad for a packet of seeds
costing under £2.
How best to sow
Remove any weeds in your chosen
area. Rake the soil to get it as even,
fine and crumbly as you can – newly
emerging seeds will struggle to
get past huge clods of earth. Water
thoroughly as the earth will be
particularly dry this time of year.
Fine seeds can be scattered over
the surface of the soil and raked in
lightly. Larger seeds will benefit
from planting approx ½ in deep.
Keep the soil moist and weed free,
74
The Island's most loved magazine