by Janis on 31st July 2026 / 0 comments
Another very dry month in the southeast UK
Once again, it has been a quiet month in the garden; the heat in the southeast of the UK has been unbearable at times, well, for us anyway, and the ground is so parched and dry.
Needless to say, we now have a hosepipe ban that started a few weeks ago, and there are water leaks everywhere; nothing changes.
We’ve recently returned from an incredible 2-week road trip through the stunning countryside of France, and it is so sad to see the devastation the wildfires are causing in so many communities.
Last week we visited Restoration House in Rochester, and it was fascinating. The beautifully restored Elizabethan mansion takes its name from King Charles II, who stayed here in May 1660 on the eve of his triumphant return to the throne.
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Restoration House, gardens
The house is amazing to see, but the gardens are incredible; I struggled to believe that there was such a vast, immaculately kept garden in the middle of Rochester town centre. We visited for half price thanks to the 2-for-1 garden offer from Gardeners’ World when you subscribe to their magazine.
What we’ve been up to in July
In the garden and on the websiteWell, I actually managed to tidy up, weed and prune our front garden and it looks so much better. The roses in our front beds are fantastic; they keep on flowering for months, are pest-resistant, and look and smell amazing.
The roses I chose are named ‘Hot Chocolate’ floribunda. I bought them from a nursery called Rumwood Nurseries, which specialises in roses; it’s located just outside of Maidstone and offers an online service too. We’ve purchased other roses from them, and they have all been so healthy.
Red Dahlias
The grass has finally had a trim; we were away in June, so after four weeks of no rain and with the scorching sun, somehow the dandelions still seem to find a way of surviving.
My tomato plants are coming on leaps and bounds; we currently have quite a few green tomatoes, but as yet, no red ones. Our irrigation system is working perfectly; luckily, this is on the exemption list from our local water supplier as it is a drip-feeder.
Our black-eyed Susans
One job that we need to do soon in the back garden, is trim and prune our bay and holly bushes with the hedge-trimmer, as they are now getting out of hand.
I have managed to plant some of my sunflower seedlings, but now I feel it may be a little too late to plant out the others, I think I missed the boat.
Achievements for July
Let’s keep ticking those boxesWe've managed to tick a few jobs off the list for July; however, we would have liked to achieve more.
Flowering Sweetpeas
So, let’s see what we’ve managed to tick off for July.
Tied up the tomato plants and trimmed where necessary.
Planted out some of my sunflower seedlings.
Cut the grass after no-mow June.
Weeded some of the cottage garden bed.
Tidied the front garden.
Keep the garden waste bin as full as possible.
Lessons learnt & mistakes made
You live and learnAnother job I wanted to do in July was to pot on our chilli seedlings, which we bought from ‘The Coastal Chilli Company’. But unfortunately, they still aren’t established enough, and I’m worried they won’t be strong enough to put in a larger pot. But we’ll see.
I do believe it may have been because I was late sowing them, but they are incredibly slow. I’ll be surprised if we get any chillies at all.
Passionflower fruit
Our plans for the coming month
What’s on your to-do list?Plant out my remaining sunflower seedlings.
Pot-on chilli plants, if they are strong enough.
Prune the bay and holly bushes.
Clear and chop up our fallen tree.
Keep an eye on the hedgehogs with our new Trailcam.
Weed the driveway using a scraper.
Continue clearing weeds and unwanted plants in the Cottage Garden section.
Prune more of the many shrubs in the back garden and check the pruning seasons.
Replant the Alpine Garden.
Clear more of the old raised beds.
Clean patio table.
Please let us know what you have planned for your garden this month; we’d love to hear about it.
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