NO-FEAR GARDENING PART 3: KEEPING THE FLOWERS GOING

A few simple jobs this month can keep your flowers blooming for longer and help you prepare next year's displays for free, says Frances Tophill

-  Frances Tophill

Flowers look amazing in the garden, and they have the added benefit of attracting and nourishing pollinators, who badly need our help, so maximising our flower power is really good for us and the creatures who share our space.

Deadheading blooms that have gone over, like repeat-flowering roses or cosmos, will keep more flowers coming. Staking or training flowers that are about to bloom can keep them standing tall when those heavy flowers open, and feeding our flowering plants with a highpotash feed, such as tomato fertiliser, will stop them running out of steam.

This is also a good time to start planning next year's flowers, to fill any gaps or add different colours. And while the weather is warm, it's the start of the seed saving season, ready for sowing now or next year. Decide and note which plants you will divide in the autumn and start taking semi-ripe or softwood cuttings to create more of your favourites.

If you're starting a new garden, balcony or window box and want summer flowers for the rest of this season and next year, this is the perfect time to visit a nursery and find plants that are just coming into flower now. They might be herbaceous perennials that you can rely on for years to come, or glorious summer annuals, ready to plant now that will only last until autumn, either because their natural lifecycle ends or the cold kills them off. But if you like what you find, make a note to save money by sowing and growing the same ones next year.

TAKING CUTTINGS