We love July

When I was a child, I had an Aertex shirt. I don't know whether they still exist, but it was loose cotton and covered with tiny holes - I assume for ventilation.

- WORDS JAMES ALEXANDER-SINCLAIR

If I close my eyes on a hot July afternoon, I can transport myself back to my eight-year-old self lying on a bank feeling the tickly tips of the grass pressing through those ventilation holes to prickle my back. Odd how memory works sometimes. Nowadays, sadly, I spend less time lying on banks staring at the sky and more time weeding – such is growing up!

STAR OF THE MONTH

Ensete ventricosum 'Maurelii'

This is a pretty good representation of the spirit of July, the month of school holidays and full-blown summer. Gone are the refinements of June and we are into a riotous tumble of exuberance. Big leaves, bright colours: the early dahlias are just getting into their stride, the perennials are still going for it and that packet of marigold seed you planted just for the hell of it is paying off big time. This is the sort of planting that lifts the spirits, and sends you off to work in the morning with a spring in your step and a big grin on your face.

This is the Ethiopian banana, so needs a frost-free location to shelter over winter. Grows fast in good soil and lots of sunshine. Height x Spread 3.5m x 3.5m

SUMMER STARS

A South African native, there are lots of different varieties of agapanthus. Some are hardy but this, as well as most of the evergreen varieties, will need a bit of winter protection, unless you live in Cornwall or the middle of a city. Even then, you may need to keep the fleece handy and watch the weather forecast. I grow them in containers that get rolled out of the shed every summer.

Agapanthus ‘Dokter Brouwer’Divide clumps every few years in spring. Watch out for slugs. The seedheads dry well and look good in a vase. H x S 80cm x 45cm

RUFFLE UP