As we’re approaching summer, you may be wondering how to take care of your garden, or how to quickly make it look presentable (we know how time flies 😉), here Leanne Cole is to tell you how to take care of your garden…

1. Have you ever looked at your garden space and thought, ‘This isn’t working for me, it doesn’t bring me joy’. Take a look at your garden because Felixstowe has a bit of a micro-climate with temperatures, wind and very few frosts. Luckily where we live is also one of the driest parts on the Suffolk coast. It is important to make sure that your plants can take the drought, which has an added advantage when there are potential hose pipe bans. A lot of my gardens are looking for low-maintenance plants, that can cope on their own without a great deal of attention. Lavender, Coneflowers, Echinops, Ornamental grasses, herbs such as rosemary, sage and thyme are worth a look, all drought tolerant and worth a try. 

2. If you live on the seafront, planting is more challenging than the countryside. It’s a great idea to get that coastal feeling, even if you live miles away from the sea. The tall spikes of the Echium to the low whimsical daisy like Erigeron almost recreate the sunny drives to Cornwall. Felixstowe too would suit the Sea Holly and the beautiful mop heads of hydrangeas as they can withstand the salt burn. 

3. Hardy Perennials or plants that don’t need to be replanted every year are a great addition to the garden, they die down over winter and bounce back the following year. This means Perennials can save you time and money in the garden and less weeding if bunched in together. The joy of these plants, Agapanthus, Crocosmia, Ornamental grasses and Hostas, means they can be divided and lifted to give you more free plants!  

4. We are lucky enough in Felixstowe to have wildflowers growing around public pathways, parks and other areas but have you spotted the ‘Pardon the weeds, we are feeding the bees’ signs? What a great idea! Have you ever thought about leaving a wild patch in your garden so that wildlife can thrive? There are shaky boxes of wildflower seed you can sow over some earth, water and with a bit of patience, it’ll be up. I have an old wheelbarrow that my better half sowed - it will make a lovely welcome for me after a hard days gardening and the bees and butterflies will love us for it. And as a kindly allotment owner once told me, ‘Do a little, leave a lot.’ That really does apply to the wildlife.  

5. A great deal of my customers are unable to get outside to walk around their garden and can only see from an armchair or on to the patio area. A great gardening solution for this is container planting with shrubs and summer annuals and can even be applied to creating a container pond. A watertight container, a solar powered pump, some rocks, a few small plants and fill up with water bring the garden closer to the armchair and provide a welcome drink for your garden birds. 

6. Lockdown isolated us away from the crowds but the great thing about coming out the other side is the need for community and to socialise with likeminded people. If you’re like me and you love everything gardening, plants, lawns and wildlife, Felixstowe has a great Gardening Club with a full and busy programme. There are talks and trips to exciting gardens, RHS Wisley being one so join up and see what exciting things you can get involved in. 

Enquiries to Jayne Steele (Secretary) jse17@hotmail.co.uk 

7. Have you tried visiting Open Gardens for ideas and inspiration? St Elizabeth Hospice Charity runs an excellent Open Garden programme where you pay a small fee and then can wander in, take a look and get some great ideas by chatting to the owners. Some gardens even offer the potential to buy plants. Check out the website for more details. The ‘Great Garden Trail’ maps are available online to see if there are any close by. ‘Suffolk Flower Garden’ is a great one to visit Sunday 16th July 10am – 2pm. Melanie Thomas is a Cut Flower grower and florist creating home grown blooms for you to admire. There are two other gardens in Felixstowe to visit for inspiration Sunday 10th September 11am- 4pm.  
See stelizabethhospice.org.uk/greatgardentrail 

8. Keeping your plants healthy is super important and can alter whether your plants give you a great display or a lacklustre one. Saving as much rainwater in our Suffolk autumnal seasons is a great way of utilising what we have by way of water butts. Suffolk Recycling have many water butts in all shapes and sizes for sale via getcomposting.com as well as compost bins to make your own compost. The process is environmentally friendly when dealing with garden and kitchen waste and more likely to be peat free. 

Visit Suffolk Recycling for more information.  

9. You don’t need to be a millionaire to start a garden and can do so on a very small budget. Ask your friends and take cuttings, divide plants between friends of a plant if you like it. Look for plants that people sell at the side of the road and look at what your neighbours grow in their gardens. If they look healthy, they may grow in your garden. I only grow flowers that I love and repeat them around the garden.   

10.  As a gardener, it’s important to stress that not only is a working garden a busy garden but is also a space that needs to be enjoyed. When I stop and have tea and biscuits with my gardening community, we sit back and admire nature and wonder at its beauty. Too often life is a race, lockdown taught me that we can stop and smell the roses for a time if we want to. Making time is good for mental health and good for the soul. Surround yourself with plants for all senses and those that bring you happiness.

Thank you for all reading, I hope you have a fantastic summer, and the weather is beautiful for you to get gardening 👨‍🌾 

Leanne x