There’s no season quite like summer for us gardeners. The long, light-filled days bring out the best in plants, and right now gardens are bursting with life from the new growth of lush green foliage, to vibrant coloured flowers, heady scents and the hum of pollinators. Whether you tend a small courtyard, a rambling cottage garden or a neat lawn with borders, summer is the time to enjoy the results of your hard work – and perhaps add a few finishing touches with inspiration from the season’s top shows and products available at your local Tates of Sussex Garden Centre.
RHS Flower Shows
Kick off the summer gardening season with a visit – or a virtual look – at the UK’s most celebrated garden shows. I had the wonderful opportunity this year of attending the RHS Malvern Spring Show with my lovely mum and the glorious Malvern Hills in the background.
We started by exploring the plant marquee with all the independent nurseries showcasing their wares in magnificent displays. Stand outs for us were the cacti and succulents and a spectacular display of fuchsias, which are one of my summer favourites.
Unfortunately, my fuchsias at home succumbed to fuchsia gall mite late last summer so I cut them all back to the ground and are hoping they will grow back without the mites this year. The mites are microscopic. They suck sap at the tips of the stems causing distortion of the leaves and flowers until they no longer produce any. There are no chemical controls available, but the biological control – Amblyseius andersoni is being trialled to control this pest as it works so well against spider mites.
We noticed lots of geums being used in the show gardens – particularly in the apricot to pink colour range and some gorgeous acers in their new spring foliage finery. Iris were also a strong feature, standing tall in the sunshine across the site.
The Rain Garden designed by John Howlett was my favourite show garden with lots of inspirational features that anyone gardening on the clay across the Weald of Sussex could use to cope with our increasingly wet winters.
Other highlights from Malvern include the houseplant zone. The RHS have been increasingly spotlighting houseplants at their shows and judging by the crowds this is a popular feature. The indoor Show Gardens/Rooms were gorgeous.
My take home from the show were a little trio of aeoniums which are going towards building up a little collection of these succulents and some new plant supports for my back garden.
At the time of writing, I am enjoying the RHS Chelsea Flower Show every evening from the comfort of my sofa and looking forward to Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival in July. If you ever have a chance to attend any of these, you are in for a fabulous day out. Wear comfy shoes!
These RHS shows highlight trends that you can bring home to your own garden. In the last few years there has been a strong emphasis on sustainable gardening, wildlife-friendly planting, and naturalistic schemes. Think looser planting styles, use of native or drought-tolerant species, and decorative elements that serve a purpose – like bee hotels, dead hedges and water features. Tates of Sussex Garden Centres stock a wide range of plants seen at these shows, including geums, iris, salvias and ornamental grasses. You’ll also find handy accessories like peat-free composts, mulches, and bio-controls for garden pests – all in line with the sustainable gardening message shared by the RHS.
Summer Planted Containers
My spring containers of bellis, daffodils and tulips are now over and I am ready to plant up with something new for summer. The tulips and daffodils I will pop into a border ready for next spring but what shall I replace them with? You can bring colour and kerb appeal to your garden or front doorstep with a few striking summer containers. Start with the pot itself. Choose from the extensive range of frost-proof terracotta, glazed ceramic or lightweight plastic pots at Tates of Sussex. There are plenty of sizes and styles to suit any taste, from rustic and traditional to sleek and modern.
For planting, look to summer bedding like petunias, geraniums, calibrachoas, nemesias and trailing lobelia, all available in-store. Combine upright and trailing varieties to create cascading colour. Use multi-purpose compost mixed with slow-release fertiliser, and don’t forget to add some Aqua Gel crystals.
These clever water-storing granules reduce how often you need to water – a huge help in hot weather, especially if you’re going away for a few days.
Instead of bedding you could choose a mix of 1 litre perennials or a single plant like a dahlia or lavender. Mixing in herbs like thyme and purple basil add fragrance and have practical use in the kitchen.
Cottage Garden Charm
Capture the romance of a traditional English garden with a planting scheme full of soft colours and billowing foliage. The cottage garden look suits all sizes of garden and works especially well when paired with rustic fencing, stone paths or weathered benches.
Growing beautiful edible plants in amongst your ornamentals also works well. Herbs like purple sage and fennel look great in a cottage garden as do bright stemmed rainbow chard and runner beans grown up supports.
Tates of Sussex offers a wide selection of cottage-style perennials and shrubs many of which we grow on our own nurseries at Old Barn and South Downs. Look out for salvias, lupins, foxgloves, roses, lavender, phlox and hollyhocks, as well as climbers like clematis and honeysuckle.
Interplant with self-seeding annuals such as love-in-a-mist, cornflowers and calendula to keep the display evolving year after year.
Create a sense of structure with decorative obelisks or trellis panels. These support tall plants and climbers and add vertical interest to your layout.
Add a few finishing touches with ornamental planters and a vintage-style watering can – all stocked at Tates for that extra cottage feel.
Don’t forget the wildlife. Cottage gardens can be havens for bees, butterflies and birds. Install a bird feeder and maybe a bee house, but the best feature to encourage wildlife of all shapes and sizes to your garden is a pond. Tates offers a wide range of wildlife products to help you build a truly buzzing garden.
Solar Lighting
Make the most of balmy summer evenings by extending your garden’s use well after sunset. Solar lighting is an effortless way to add atmosphere, highlight focal points, and ensure paths and steps remain safely visible as the light fades.
Use string lights to edge a pergola or trail through a shrub. Place solar lanterns beside a garden bench to create a peaceful nook for evening relaxation. Add motion-sensing lights near gates or sheds for added security.
Tates of Sussex stocks an impressive selection of solar lights, from staked path markers and fence-mounted lanterns to hanging fairy lights and decorative orbs. Many modern models come with improved battery storage and brighter LEDs, offering a warm, long-lasting glow.
One of the most popular options this year are the GloBulb Solar String Lights which come in a set of 20 or 40. These are great for decorating pergolas and patio areas providing an extra sparkle to parties and gatherings that go on into the evening.
How to Reuse Materials from Your Garden So That You Don’t Have to Go to the Waste Tip
Keep your garden tidy and productive without relying on visits to the waste tip. With a few simple practices and tools, you can repurpose clippings, trimmings and prunings to benefit your garden in other ways.
Composting is the most obvious solution. Add small amounts of lawn cuttings, vegetable peelings and any soft prunings to compost bins. Layering this green material with dry material such as cardboard, twiggy cuttings or autumn leaves for a mix that will break down quickly. After a few months, you’ll have rich, crumbly compost to improve your soil health.
Use woody prunings as plant supports. Trim longer branches into short stakes, ideal for supporting perennials or beans. Thicker branches can be used to build rustic border edging, a dry hedge or log piles for wildlife habitat.
Excess grass clippings can be used as a mulch around shrubs or fruit trees. They help to keep moisture in the soil and minimise weeds. Just ensure they’re applied in thin layers and not touching the stems or trunks to prevent rot. Shred small branches or hedge clippings and use them as a path mulch or base layer in raised beds. Tates sells electric garden shredders for home use, which are surprisingly compact and easy to manage.
By making use of what your garden gives you, you’ll save on waste, trips to the tip, enrich your soil and work more sustainably.
Visit Tates of Sussex for All Your Summer Garden Needs
Summer is the season when gardens truly shine – and it’s also a time when a few well-chosen updates can make a big impact. Whether you want to refresh your containers, embrace cottage-garden planting, install solar lights or start composting, you’ll find the tools, plants and advice you need at Tates of Sussex Garden Centres.
By our resident horticultural expert
