RHS Resources

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News:

Monty Don, one of the UK's best known gardeners, has been awarded the RHS Victoria Medial of Honour, the society's highest award.

A new rose named after the late Deborah James has raised 70,000 for Cancer Research UK since it was launched at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Bred and named by the Harkness Rose Company, the rose has white flowers with pink centres and a glossy foliage.

The vegetable plot at Sissinghurst Castle Garden has gained Soil Association organic certification. The 0.8ha Kent garden grows about 150 different vegetable cultivators producing 6.5 tonnes of crops each year.


Advice:

Having colourful blooms in a shady area, especially under trees, brightens up late summer and autumn days. Growing in these conditions can be challenging, but with good plant choice, soil preparation and care in the first year after planting, it can be successful. To establish your plants, improve the soil by digging in a bucketful of organic matter such as manure or garden compost into each square meter. Keep new plants well watered through the first year to encourage them to establish well. In early spring, mulch around your plants to further help retain the moisture in the soil through the summer months.

There is no better time than early August to sow salad leaves in those empty spaces around your vegetable patch or containers for autumn harvests. Sowing now - later in the season - can also mean plants such as rocket and spinach are less likely to bolt.

Courgettes in pots need watering every day, while during dry spells it's once a week for plants in the ground. Ensure moisture reaches root depth, which might require two watering cans per square metre. To stop water loss, keep planting area mulched with compost mixed in with straw.