The gardening year: summer

Add a vibrant dose of colour

A golden archway
Instead of roses, grow ornamental gourds or baby golden pumpkins over a sturdy, plain garden arch. Put one young plant at the base of each arch, tie the main stems up the frame as they grow, and the fruits will hang from their perches, making a stunning show that will last through autumn.

A red-toned sunflower, such as 'Velvet Queen' makes a bold statement.

Box of jewels
Star-shaped succulents such as sedums (right), sempervivums and echeverias make for jewel-like displays and produce slim funnels of flowers through the year. They also thrive - three cheers - on little or no watering, so there's no need for any housesitting when you go away. Select different foliage shades and plant in one low, wide container, using gritty compost and leaving room between each rosette for babies to form - and they soon will.

Bonus flowers
Purple sage is a valuable foliage plant, but other garden sages offer months of deep blue flowering spikes (left). When they fade, cut them back for a second flush. Look for garden centre hybrids in the Salvia superba range, such as ‘Dear Anja'. For maximum impact, grow them next to orange pot marigolds - the contrasting colours will make each look brighter.

Your chores checklist

● Eradicate blackfly and greenfly on stems and buds with strong jets of water, aided by your fingers.
● Plant out summer bedding after the first frosts. Push containers together to make a fake border, placing those at the back on bricks or upturned pots to add height.
● Grow strawberries in hanging baskets to outwit the slug population - but remember to use lightweight compost.
● Boost flowers with a dilute weekly feed of tomato food and give foliage a treat with liquid seaweed.
● For the largest, splashiest blooms this summer, grow claret-red sunflowers such as ‘Velvet Queen'.
● Tie in climbers, keeping stems as horizontal as possible to encourage bud growth along their length.
● Deadhead flowering plants to encourage fresh blooms.
● For quick-fire colour and vibrant summer salads, sow nasturtium seeds in bare patches of soil.
● Stake young plants so they won't keel over later. For a natural effect, prod twiggy prunings into the ground to support stems.
● Trim evergreen hedges and topiary late in the season.
● Mulch soil after rain to help retain water and keep out weeds.
● Mow lawn regularly, setting blades higher to leave grass longer during hot, dry periods.
● Water plants in the early morning and evening, not during the heat of the day.
● Prune rambling roses and spring-flowering shrubs such as philadelphus and lilac after the flowers fade.
● After flowering, cut back herbs and groundcover geraniums for a fresh flush.