Gardening with Pat Duke - time to love those Dahlias

In the Garden
The drought-like conditions are quickly dehydrating plants, particularly grasses if they haven't had much water. This can lead to the flower patch looking sorry for itself with straw replacing flower stems.
With all that in mind it’s time to clear away the desiccated and dead material and replace them with later flowering annuals like tobacco plants (Nicotiana ‘White trumpets’), cosmos, and zinnia (mammoth). Once they’re in you'll find with a small amount of spot watering they will quickly ‘go away’ which is gardening speak for grow so quickly you hardly notice. It’s a good idea to pinch them out by removing the paint tip of the plant where the flower will emerge. Doing this will tell the plant to create more flowers and grow more bush like. It has worked a treat on my sunflowers this year.
With the small amount of rain we have had it means that the lawn has flashed light green for the first time in a month so it may need a cut on a high setting if only to disrupt any of the weeds that have taken advantage of the dry conditions.
It’s about now that dahlias start to show themselves so give them some love and attention with a mulch of grass cuttings and feeding with an all purpose feed. This will make all the difference rather than letting them work harder on their roots than producing flowers.
Any flowers that have gone over can be cleared away and run over with the mower before adding to the compost heap. This will ensure they break down quicker especially in this hot weather. Pretty soon you'll be looking around for a substrate to cover the beds with so it should be ready by autumn. It makes absolute sense to put it back on the same bed it came from in terms of self sufficiency and putting the right nutrients back into the ground.
On the Plot
Even though it’s high summer it does not mean we can just water plants and weed around the patch. There is still planting to be done ready for autumn harvests. French beans can still be sown for October harvests as can purple spouting and leeks for the ‘hungry gap’ around February.
All types of kale can go in now alongside lettuce. Both are easy to grow and germinate without too much fuss but they can both be vulnerable to the full range of garden pests from birds to insects and molluscs. They will need some protection such as butterfly netting. I've found that butterflies are intelligent and either recognise there’s no entry and move on or they find a gap and help themselves. Just watching them pressure test the netting is fascinating and anxiety provoking all at the same time.
There is still time to sow basil in a hot, dry spot where they’ll think they re in a garden in Italy and grow enough bushy leaves to make you think the same. Sprinkle the seeds in a shallow furrow and cover with soil. Water regularly and you'll notice they come through quite quickly. Thin them out and water in the mornings every other day. I find watering at night seems to make them waterlogged and its as if they get too cold and boggy at night and die off. Making pesto with this is a different culinary experience altogether and will keep well into autumn reminding you of this amazing summer we’re having.
So many people are talking about the hot weather like its a burden. Whilst it can be problematic for some people there is a lot to be thankful for and it's time to make the absolute best of summer. Planting late flowering annuals will prolong that uplifting feeling that we get from sunlight and the warmth it offers.