The Gardener's Journal is a free monthly gardening guide delivered direct to your inbox.

Each month, receive tips on the top jobs needed in your garden as well as a wealth of information on a range of gardening topics. From sowing seeds to picking fruit, each month get access to information on the care and maintenance of your flowerbeds, vegetable plot and lawn. As with your own gardening diary, the journal is split into separate sections, each covering a different area of garden care.

Friday 1 July 2022

This Month in Your Garden - July

‘Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability.’ Sam Keen

All your hard but hopefully pleasurable work in the garden earlier in the year pays off with leisure time to enjoy your chosen displays. The choice is yours. There are always plenty of jobs to be done, even in the heat of July, or you can be just plain lazy. Supposing though you’re a gardener who can’t sit still when you look around and see plenty of cuttings to be taken. 

The Lawncare Guide - July

Water, water, everywhere

Light, infrequent watering of the lawn only serves to encourage roots to stay near the surface leading to thin, unsightly grass. Continuous watering can also have a damaging effect, leading to disease. So what’s best if there is a prolonged dry period or even drought? Assuming there is no hosepipe ban (and we’ll talk more about that in a minute) what’s needed is thorough irrigation once or at most twice a week. 

Lawn Care: Questions & Answers

Q. Should I aerate the lawn at this time of year? 

The Vegetable Plot - July

Straight and marrow 

It’s time to pick your courgettes before they turn into marrows. Unless, of course, you want to grow marrows. A marrow is a cucurbit, from the same family as cucumber, melon, squash and courgette. So your courgette is a marrow picked early. But you already knew that. 

The Big Glut - July

Grilled chicken thighs with courgette, sweet potato wedges and feta from Delicious Magazine

Ingredients

  • 4 free-range skin-on chicken thighs, skin slashed
  • 2 medium-large sweet potatoes, cut into wedges (skin on)
  • 3 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for brushing
  • 2 large courgettes, sliced lengthways into 0.5cm thick strips (or 6-8 baby courgettes, halved)
  • Small bunch basil, leaves picked and roughly chopped, plus extra leaves to serve
  • Small bunch coriander, leaves picked and roughly chopped
  • 30g pine nuts, toasted
  • 1/2 garlic clove
  • 25g parmesan, finely grated
  • Grated zest and juice 1 lemon
  • 80g feta, crumbled