Well I have returned renewed and refreshed from the Alps, which were as beautiful as ever. We did many walks taking in the fresh clean air and beautiful scenery, I love to see so many of the flowers I grow in my garden growing in their natural habitat.

One observation with regard to the summer bedding schemes of France, if you don’t like geraniums you are in trouble as it seems to be geranium or nothing, not that I am complaining as I am a fan….luckily!

My garden sitter kindly kept picking for me so we are still enjoying bountiful amounts of veg and fruit.

I’ve cut down my broad bean plants that have finished producing but I will leave the roots in the soil for a few weeks as they add nitrogen to the soil. The garden is a little crispy having not had a lot of rain so I have started to cut down a few of the flowers that have passed their best, collecting and storing seeds as I go from the ones I want more of next year.

Hedge trimming

This is the month to trim conifers, evergreen hedges and shape topiary before the weather turns, don’t trim conifers after August as you can encourage bare patches to develop.

Before you undertake work on your hedge check that there are no nesting birds as it is an offence under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 to damage or destroy the nest of any wild bird while it is in use or being built.

The bird-nesting season is usually considered to run from the start of March to the end of July so you should be ok now but check if you are not sure.

To give formal hedges a nice clean line and if you don’t trust your eye, hammer two stakes into the ground and stretch a length of string between them to use as a cutting guide.

Choose your instrument of choice whether shears of electric hedge-clippers and cut the top first, next cut the sides, making the top narrower than the base, tapering allows light to get to the lower branches.

By trimming your hedges in this way you are having the same effect as if you were pinching out the tips of the shoots on a potted plant – the stems below the cut will branch out.

Once finished, brush off trimmings from the top of the hedge to prevent the spread of fungal diseases.