Rounding up the garden maintenance jobs for July you need to look after your lawns. They will need some water if it is very dry and a final feed when the ground is damp after a shower. If it is very dry then don’t forget to set your lawn mower blades a little higher so you don’t scalp your lawn.

On the subject of water – this is the time of year to really monitor your water features, especially if you have fish or wildlife in and round them. Duckweed and suchlike need to be regularly removed and any floating dead foliage should be swept off the top of the water. Aquatic plants need to be kept pruned and tidied to keep them healthy. I have to clean out my pond this year and pass some of my much loved fish onto a friend with a bigger pond – they have grown too large for mine. I shall miss them.

When you do any work on your ponds and water features do make sure that frogs and toads can easily get in and out – they are among your best friends when it comes to slug control. Be careful if you must spray with chemicals that there is no drift onto your pond and that you take care of the bees and other helpful insects like ladybirds

Garden Maintenance in July – 4 is a post from: The Garden Magazine

I had planned to write about some of my plans for the water features in my garden – I want to do some new things this year but something far more important has happened!  Whilst peering into the depths of our pond this morning what  should my other half spy but a huge mass of Frog Spawn…. Spring has Sprung – even though we are being battered to death by high winds and rain.

It never ceases to delight me that we have managed to create an environment where frogs, newts and toads live in relative harmony, the birds dip in and out of the pond, dragonflies flash around over the water showing off their bright colours whilst the fish do the same in the water.   It is enormously satisfying to watch this hive of activity only three feet from the patio doors that open out from our Dining Room.   One of my favourite activities, if you could call it that, is to sit outside on the Garden Bench next to the pond with an early morning cup of tea and just watch the comings and goings of all the various creatures as they go about their business.   It makes all the effort and work that went into creating that little spot so worth it – the only downside is you have to watch out for baby frogs that wander into the house when you leave the patio doors open!  I don’t quite know who jumps highest – them or me…

Spring is Springing! is a post from: The Garden Magazine