Everything you need to grow...
Hot off the trowel
Gardens to Gander ​​
​Here are some local gardens to visit:​
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​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​West Dean Gardens open Mon-Fri 09.30am - 5.00pm.
Sat-Sun 09.00am - 5.00pm
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The National Garden Scheme (NGS)
Look on their website and find a garden near you to visit.
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Woolbeding Gardens.
The gardens open again on Thursdays and Fridays only as from 24th April. Pre booking is required for everyone.
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Insector Clueso!
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The Asian Hornet has arrived in the UK, and hundreds of nests have been destroyed. However, it looks as though they have been the tip of the iceberg. They are avaricious insects that target most of our pollinators.
Our honey bees are at serious risk of their hives being invaded and the colonies being wiped out. These predators are smaller than the European Hornet, which is not a threat. The Asian Hornet can be identified by its yellow leg ends and a wide orange band towards the rear of its abdomen.
If you see one, please report it using the iPhone and Android ‘Asian Hornet Watch’ app. Alternatively, email: alertnonnative@ceh.ac.uk
please include a photo if you can do so safely.
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Weeders Digest
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The Hidden Kingdom of Fungi by Keith Seifert.
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One of our Garden Club members recently returned from a mushroom cultivation course in the misty mountains of Wales, positively glowing with fungal enthusiasm. Inspired by their stories, we picked up The Hidden Kingdom of Fungi.
This book uncovers the astonishing roles fungi play in our forests, homes, and even our bodies. From decomposing leaves to forming symbiotic relationships with plants—and us—fungi are quiet powerhouses of the natural world. Seifert’s writing is accessible, witty, and packed with fascinating science. It’s a must-read for anyone curious about the magic beneath our feet!
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Available to purchase: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hidden-Kingdom-Fungi-Exploring-Microscopic-ebook/dp/B09NF771Y3​
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Top gardening jobs for August ​
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August is usually one of the hottest months of the year, making watering essential. Try to use grey water wherever possible, especially as water butts may be low if it has been a dry summer. August is traditionally holiday time, so you might need to
enlist the help of friends whilst you are away. When you are at home, take the time to prune wisteria and summer flowering shrubs such as lavenders once they’ve finished flowering.Top gardening jobs this month:​
1. Prune wisteria
2. Summer prune trained apples and pears
3. Deadhead flowering plants regularly
4. Water containers and new plants
5. Collect seeds from garden plants
6. Harvest sweetcorn and other vegetables as they become ready​
7. Lift and pot up rooted strawberry runners
8. Cut out old fruited canes on raspberries
9. Keep ponds and water features topped up
10. Improve the soil with green manures
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Musings
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‘Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August.’
Jenny Han
‘August rain: the best of the summer gone and the new fall not yet born. The odd, uneven time.’
Sylvia Plath
‘This morning, the sun endures past dawn. I realise that it is August: the summer’s last stand.'
Sara Baume
‘Less than a month ago, all of August still stretched before us - long and golden and reassuringly, like an endless period of delicious sleep.’
Lauren Oliver
‘In August, the large masses of berries, which, when in flower, had
attracted many wild bees, gradually assumed their bright velvety, crimson hue, and by their weight again bent down and broke their tender stems.’
Henry David Thoreau
‘August is the slow, gentle month that stretches out the longest across the span of a year. It yawns and lingers on with the light in its palms.’
Victoria Erickson
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And remember.............
'The love of gardening is a seed once sown that never dies.’
Gertrude Jekyll
