Green Fingers Newsletter June 2008

Taking cuttings is a free and easy way of making new plants from your existing plants. Follow our step-by-step guide.

Jobs to keep you busy throughout the summer months.

At this time of year our local garden centres, nurseries and even DIY stores are full of attractive, healthy plants that are hard to resist. But what happens to all those plastic pots? Like plastic bags the plastic pot is cheap to produce and handy to use, and just like plastic bags, they pile up in our gardens, bins and landfill.

If your deckchair reflections in the garden have led you to realise there is a lot to do, then how about inviting friends and neighbours in for a garden party with a twist.

If you haven’t got around to creating your own beautiful, rich, sweet-smelling compost yet, then there couldn’t be a better time to make a start than in summer and the process couldn’t be simpler.

There is nothing better than relaxing in your perfect summer space but most gardeners will agree that it is hard to resist tweaking and pulling at plants spotted from the comfort of a deckchair! Try instead relaxing with notebook and pencil in hand ready to jot down ideas for new planting in beds and borders, new colour schemes and alternative ways of growing existing shrubs and trees. Perhaps topiary will fit the bill, try training a suitable shrub as a wall shrub or growing vegetables in amongst the established planting. If summer showers drive you indoors keep up with latest Green Club events on the Green Club website and plan trips on sunny days to other gardens and West Sussex events.