Category: Missed a ThameNews story?

IT’S another beautiful day and I am just wondering how much longer we can enjoy this Indian summer? Rain is forecast for later this week. This can only be a good thing with the number of plantings I am doing at the moment!
By the way, the bulbs are delayed. My supplier is having problems with the tulips. Don?t worry – as soon as they arrive I shall be sending teams out to
plant them. We still have plenty of time.
I am keeping very busy and have some really lovely jobs on.
Whether a coincidence or not, I was contacted by a developer last week who builds only ?very prestigious? homes in South Bucks,Hertfordshire and Derbyshire. I have a meeting with him tomorrow to discuss designing his show homes and possibly for
individual buyers. This could be very exciting and might even lead to me entering the New Homes Garden Awards next year.
One of my clients, Clive and Caroline, sent me some great photos of their recently completed garden and I have sent these off to the developer who built their house in the hope that he might like to use my services on future developments. I?ll keep you
posted.
It?s been great fun these last few weekends to actually get down to re-designing the borders in my own garden. I was so inspired at a recent seminar that I have decided to experiment with a few
varieties I am not so familiar with. I have planted the giant Eupatorium purpureum ?Atropurpurem?. This reaches over 2m and has wonderful purple stems and pink flowers. Persicaria polymorpha is another beast, very vigorous with lovely white flowers. I have mixed these with Verbena bonariensis (still the designer?s favourite plant) and black and pale blue Irises. These
are flanked with Molina caerulea ?Transparent? which has to be my favourite grass. It is so delicate and reaches a height of nearly 2m. In a few weeks? time it will gradually change colour to the
most wonderful oaty/orange mix and give so much for weeks to come.
NOTE: We have been experiencing technical difficulties with my website. If anyone has tried to reach me via the ?Contact? page, do please try again, or give me a call. We think it has been out of order since May!!

SEASONAL RECIPE
Roast Pumpkin Soup
I medium pumpkin Olive Oil
1 litre chicken or vegetable stock 5 cloves of garlic
Salt and Black Pepper Curry powder
Cut the pumpkin in half and remove the pips. Chop into chunks, skin and all. Put into a large roasting tin and drizzle the oil over them. Crush the garlic cloves, leaving the skin on and add to the pan. I usually mix it all up with my hands at this stage.
Bake in the over for about 40 minutes (Gas 5/Elec. 190), turning a
couple of times. When they are tender, scrape the flesh from the skin and squeeze out the flesh from the garlic. Add this and the curry powder to the stock and then liquidise until you have a soft
smooth consistency.
If you can?t get pumpkin, you could always use another form of squash.

SEASONAL TIPS
We are doing a lot of splitting of perennials this month. The beauty is you get ?free? plants to infill any gaps and the parent plant will benefit. It is also a good time to move plants ? they may have become overcrowded or you may feel like a change.
This is also a good month for taking hardwood cuttings of shrubs. By now (November) the soft summer growth has become woodier.

Evergreens
Take 20 ?30cm cuttings from stems that are about the size of a pencil. Cut just below a leaf node at an angle. Remove any leaves. Root into pots filled with multi-purpose compost and grit and place in a cold frame or cold greenhouse. Sink two thirds of
the cutting into the compost and leave a third above.

Deciduous
These can be put into the open ground. Dig a v-shaped trench, with one side of it vertical. Put some grit in the bottom of the trench to help with drainage. Line the cuttings along the vertical side and infill with soil. With any luck you will have new shrubs
for next autumn.

Despite the mild weather we do need to think about what isaround the corner.
?Don?t forget the birds. Fill up feeders and make sure
there is fresh water for them.
?Insulate terracotta pots with bubble wrap and buy some ?feet?. This really does help against frosts. Frozen compost can kill.
?If you have planted or potted up plants such as Astelia or Phormium this year I would recommend you protect them against frost. Stuff straw in and around the leaves and cover in fleece. This does not look attractive, but it is worthwhile particularly if they are only recently planted.
Fleece is available at most garden centres and I buy the straw from the pet shop.
?If you have bay trees, it is a good idea to insulate the trunks with foam lagging ? available from DIY stores.
?Lag outdoor taps, or turn off at the mains.
?Clear leaves from paths, drains etc., and save to use as a mulch.

VEGETABLE & FRUIT GARDEN
You can sow broad beans this month ? do check the seed packets for the right varieties ?Aquadulce? is one I have used in the past.
Protect cauliflower heads from frost, by tying in their leaves across them and root crops by spreading straw around the stems.
Plant autumn onion sets and garlic provided the ground is not too wet.

Prune Redcurrants and gooseberries. Cut back this year?s growth by half and any shoots that are in the centre of the bush.
Prune blackcurrants. Take anything out that is diseased or weak.
Remove anything that is looking darker in colour ? these are shoots that are likely to be older.
Rhubarb can be split. Plant the cuttings into rich soil and well-rotted compost. Cover the crowns with straw and an up-turned pot to force an earlier crop.
If you are on clay soil ? dig over any bare patches in the garden and in the vegetable patch ? the frost helps break it down.

GREENHOUSE
Check the heating system. If you want to protect seedlings without using heat, attach bubble wrap to the glass to conserve as much heat as possible.
Pot up lettuces sown in September, or plant them in growbags.
Stop watering succulents and only water other plants sparingly, avoiding wetting the leaves.
Ventilate on sunny days and close it up by 1.00pm to conserve the heat.

INTERESTING BITS
If you have problems with squirrels digging up your bulbs there is a product called STOPPIT. These are made from renewable willow in a hoop design and act as a barrier. Available from www.peppermintgarden.com / 020 8399 5777 and cost

WHAT a beautiful month September has been. I returned from holiday on the 6th and the sun seems to have been shining ever since. The odd drop of rain has helped the gardens and it is lovely to see them looking healthier and greener.
The down side is the weeds are still growing. October is one of the busiest times in the garden and I have given some tips, below, on what you should be doing. I always think of this month being the beginning of the gardening year.
I have had a busy time this month. I attended a wonderful seminar at my nursery. As most of you know, they grow almost specifically for designers and it was a delight to walk around the nursery looking at all the new stock. I shall certainly be including some new specimens in my Planting Plans. We were discussing the impact of continuing drought conditions and seeking solutions to this ongoing problem.
I also attended the results of the New Homes Garden Awards at the Royal Garden Hotel in London last Friday. It was a fascinating day, meeting up with old colleagues and making new contacts amongst the developers. It was a very grand occasion with a champagne reception, reasonable (should have been better!) food and entertainment. We could have done without the latter, which bordered on crass, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. My very dear friend and fellow designer won her category and took the most coveted award of Best Garden of the Year. I?d like to enter next year, but the criteria might be against me. It has to be a
garden in a new build property and I rarely get to do these.
If any of you know of anyone moving into a brand new property who would like their garden designed, please do let me know.
SEASONAL RECIPE:
Roast Tomato Soup
2 kilos of ripe tomatoes 2 Cloves Garlic
Sugar Olive Oil
Seasoning Stock
Lemon juice

Slice the tomatoes in half and place on a roasting tray in a single layer, cut side up. Crush the garlic and scatter over the tomatoes.
Season well and sprinkle over some sugar, then drizzle over the olive oil.
Roast for about 30 ?45 mins (180/Gas mark 4).
Remove from the oven. When they are cooled sieve over a bowl to extract all the juices.
De-glaze the pan with a bit of the stock or water, to get all
the juices up.
Add this to the sieved tomatoes and thin with more stock until you get the consistency you like.
Add a squeeze of lemon and more sugar until you find the taste you like.

You can stop at the first stage of this recipe and use the puree
of tomatoes in stews and casseroles.

SEASONAL TIPS
Continue to cut down the stems of perennials. After they have been in the ground for a few years some perennials really benefit from being split. This is the ideal time to do it. Cut them down leaving a few inches of stem and then dig up the clump. Tease the roots apart and either re-plant or pot up. You can be quite brutal using two spades back to back or even a knife if you come across thick roots. If you have autumn flowering perennials, such
as Asters, leave these until the spring to divide.
Remember to go and buy those sticks! When you have cut the perennials down, place a stick next to the plant so that you can identify what are perennials and what are weeds next Spring.
You can still take cuttings from shrubs and September and October are the best months for moving them if need be. If you don?t have time now, leave it until April next year.
Sew sweet pea seeds in long pots. If you plant them at this time rather than the spring, you will get the earliest flowers next year.
This goes for other hardy annuals, such as Cornflowers, Nigella and Larkspur.
Prune back young growth on Pyracanthas to expose the ripening berries.
Plant spring flowering bulbs, such as Tulips and Lilies.
This is the best month for repairing and planting new lawns.
For established lawns the best treatment is to aerate the whole area. There are gadgets available for doing this, but a good old- fashioned method is to use a fork dug into the lawn and wiggled around. This is very time consuming, but worth it. Then scarify and remove the debris to the compost heap. Top dress with a compatible seed mix together with soil or compost.
Prune roses if you did not do it last month.

VEGETABLE & FRUIT GARDEN
The tomatoes are still going strong. Trim the leaves to expose any fruits that might still be ripening. Use cloches to cover any lettuces, spinach and parsley sown in
late July. Plant spring cabbages and cauliflowers. Sow radishes and turnips to produce ?tops? for harvesting in spring and winter spinach for early winter and spring harvesting.
Spray fruits such as peaches, plums and nectarines to protect against leaf curl.
Remove fruit canes from soft fruit, such as raspberries. Cut them down to ground level and tie in the new canes.
Dismantle climbing frames and store away. Plant garlic for next year?s crop in June/July.
Continue to store apples. Pick up any fallen fruit to avoid disease.
Plant up bulbs in containers for next spring, either for displays in the house or garden.
I have just purchased another black compost bin from the council for the princely sum of

WHAT a change in the weather! At least it has meant less of the manual watering. My garden certainly looks a bit more luscious, though the vegetables have been very disappointing.
I pulled my onions last week and they are about half their normal size. The broccoli went to seed and the French beans struggled to do anything. I am hoping the Brussel Sprouts, Courgettes and Runner Beans will yield a better crop. The plants, on the other
hand, have continued to give pleasure. Some of them, such as Rosa ?New Dawn?, Helenium ?Moerheim Beauty?and Nepeta x faassinii are now in bloom again.
The Phlox, Hibiscus, Penstemon and Rudbeckia ‘Herbstonee’ are giving a wonderful display of colour.

I always feel rather sad at this time of year, knowing I will soon have to cut the perennials down and put my garden to bed. I know I mentioned it last month, and sorry to be a bore, but for those of you with newly planted gardens I strongly recommend
you mark the plants with a stick when you cut them down. They will then be easily identified in the spring when you are out there weeding and getting the garden ready for spring.
If any of you are interested in help during the busy period of September/October, just let me know and I can arrange for one of the girls, or boys, to come out and give you a hand.
I had a fascinating day judging the New Homes Garden Award at the Museum of Garden History in Lambeth. There were entries from developers, landscapers and designers and it really highlighted the enormous chasm there is between our industries.
I was judging with a fellow designer and the Chairman of the Landscape Institute and sometimes it was hard to give more than 10 marks out of 100!! We weren?t being mean, we were just astounded at the poor design and quality of the build.

I have been approached to join the Society of Garden Designers? Council and after this experience I think I might. It will be time consuming, but if I can promote good design and practice from a
higher height, then I think it will be worth it.
I am off to sunnier climes from 29th August to 7th September, but if any of you need anything just leave a message on the answerphone or send an email and I promise to deal with it when I get back.

SEASONAL RECIPE
COURGETTE SIDE DISH
This is something I concocted when I was a student with very limited funds and now I use it to keep on top of gluts of courgettes and tomatoes:

1 ? 2 Courgettes 4 tomatoes, skinned
1 onion
Roux (butter and flour)
Milk
Cheese
Skin the courgettes and cut into 1? cubes and place in an oven proof dish. Chop the tomatoes and mix up with the courgette.
Chop the onion and fry in the butter until soft but not too brown.
Add flour and cook for a minute or two before adding the milk to form a b

THIS continuing dry spell has prompted me to sit down and write a list of drought tolerant plants readily available in the UK.
This will not only help me with future planting plans, but it is also something I thought might be of interest to you. If you want a copy just contact me and I will forward it on to you. As I was going through the list I realised that certain plants we thought of as extremely tender only a few years ago, such as Pittosporum tenuifolium ?Silver Queen?, can now quite happily survive our winters; more indications perhaps of global warming.
I was also pleased to find that I already use the vast majority as a matter of course.
Having ripped my garden apart in late July I can now sit back and think what I might plant. I removed an enormous Viburnum tinus that had spread to at least three meters, two Choisya and a Euphorbia
wulfenii. The space these have left is amazing and I can?t wait to sit down and actually design something for my own space. Whilst working in the garden we found, to my horror, an adder basking under some old bricks and he wasn?t small!! I now very gingerly
walk up the path to my office wondering if he is lurking in the undergrowth.
August is the month when we designers think things go quiet.
Not so for me, I?m afraid. I still have lots of interesting projects on the go, including the possibility of two commercial jobs. I am also quite excited at the prospect of judging the ?New Homes
Garden Awards? on the 17th.

This competition was set up a few years ago to encourage developers, designers and landscapers to
all work together. I might even enter it next year. If you are interested the website is www.newhomesgardenawards.co.ik.

A U G U S T
SEASONAL RECIPE
PISTO MANCHEGO
Great if you have a glut of courgettes.
3 tbs of fruity olive oil 1 pepper cut into squares
1 medium onion, chopped 1 courgette cubed
5 cloves of garlic minced 1lb tomatoes, skinned and chopped
1 tbs minced parsley salt and pepper
Heat the oil in a large saucepan and saut

IT is the time of year when all sensible people are making Summer Pudding, one of the great creations that proves the British genius for puddings.
What’s extraordinary is that there are still some people out there who don’t know how to make it, and a lot of silly recipes around that can’t resist complicating this wonderfully simple pudding. Delia Smith’s recipe tells you to butter the bread – no, that’s just confusing Summer Pudding with Bread Pudding, a very different matter. The latter is cooked, in a custard, and contains eggs and dried fruit. The clever thing about Summer Pudding is that it’s not cooked, which is just the point of it. It was invented by frugal nannies and housewives to avoid lighting a fire or switching on an oven in summer. One recipe I found on the internet even says you can use rhubarb!! Ugh. Never put in lemon zest – the summer berries have quite enough acid of their own. And there is absolutely no need to butter the dish.

Take a mixture of summer berries, preferably picked fresh from your own garden. Strawberries, raspberries, redcurrants, blackcurrants and blackberries are all good. Raspberries on their own are excellent. Slightly squashy ones are all right so long as they are really fresh and haven’t gone off or dried out. At a pinch you can include some very ripe loganberries, but if you do, remember to double the amount of sugar. Some people use cherries, in which case you have to stone them. The fruit should be enough to nearly fill the pudding-basin you are going to use, which should have a rounded bottom. Pick out any stalks or stray insects, put the fruit in a saucepan, barely cover with water and add enough sugar to make the syrup sweet. There’s no hard and fast rule as berries and tastes vary, but about a heaped tablespoon of sugar for every handful of fruit is a good start. Raise it to simmering point for a few minutes, just long enough to dissolve the sugar, because remember, the fruit should not be cooked.

Line the pudding-basin with slices of white bread. It hasn’t got to be stale, and I think it’s well worth a bit of fresh bread. It certainly shouldn’t be more than a day old. Take off the crusts if you like, if you can’t remember the War, in which case to do so will shock you too much. After stirring and tasting the fruit, to make sure the sugar is dissolved and there’s enough, spoon it into the bowl, cover it with a last slice of bread, put a saucer on top that fits into your bowl, and weigh it down well. After chilling for a few hours in the fridge it should be ready to serve with cream. The bread, saturated with sweetened juice, will be transformed into a moist sponge the colour of claret wine.

And DON’T make another to freeze and bring it out at Christmas. Things like Summer Pudding should be enjoyed in their fleeting season, just in those few weeks when the berries are there in the garden and the days are long.

SCIENCE fiction has boldly gone further than even the story tellers of ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome could have ever imagined.
Yet, even so,whether it is beings with superior powers, strange monsters or gods doing dastardly deeds, the basic ninety nine ways of telling a story remain the same.
Even the film, Star Ship Troopers, uses the plot lines that fans of Jane Austin would be familiar with.
Take Mansfield Park, like Starship Troopers. Both are critiques on the social values of the day and how the characters in both stories adjust and grow up in the changing circumstances. In both we are seeing how an outside threat is likely to end the privaleged life of the characters, e.g. the coming of the industrial revolution and the end of earth itself. In both we have a strong female heroin, who grows from a timid girl to a fully confident woman, who saves the day.

Despite the protests from the literati, Science Fiction is literature we should be proud of. In fact, the likes of Shakespeare would be impressed by how their basic plot lines have been developed into often very sophisticated stories, where often several story
lines are interwoven by the writers to keep the active interest of the reader/viewer or listener.

Take Romeo and Juliet, itself a reworking of The
Brothers, by Roman dramatist Terence. The tale has been used in the original series of Star Trek, with Captain Kirk in the Romeo role and in a recent
episode of Star Gate with Amanda Tapping in her Lt. Samantha Carter role playing Juliet.
Such reworking has brought much more depth to the character involved, than Shakespeare ever achieved.

As to the themes used in today’s science fiction, in many ways they are the same as in ancient times, but perhaps with a new twist. There are the usual politics and personalities, as in many a recent film including the latest Super Man and X Men films, with love and sex, most notably portrayed by Jane Fonda in Barbarella. While Star Gate’s underlying themes are a mix of mythology of ancient times with the clash of the struggle, mankind has undergone with religion. In fact, the latest series is in many ways a reflection of today’s trouble in the real world.

Just as our heroes in Star Gate fight the religious fanaticism of the Ori, the West in the real world has to tackle the extremism of the Middle East.

The similarities between the real world and the virtual world do not end there. Just as in America and Saudi Arabia its rulers use religion to control its citizens. In Star Gate an alien race called the Goa’uld pretend to be gods and use religion to lead their subject races.

An interesting development is the growing importance of the villain in science fiction; instead of the simplistic characterization portrayed in Shakespeare’s Shylock, we see more rounded characters. Take Baal a Goa’uld, the ‘baddy’ in Star Gate played by Cliff Simon. Here we see a person with real feelings, highly intelligent, often having the best lines, facing the issues anyone who seeks to rule the galaxy would face. It certainly is a change
from the whimpering we see in Jane Austin’s Mr. D’Arcy character.

As for the heroes in these stories, we are at last seeing more rounded people, not dull, almost god like, beings. Take Superman in his latest film, where
we see that even a super hero has his problems, including his loves and hates. It is nice to see that our heroes are less than perfect.

The Star Trek Voyager series is a modern version of Odysseus and his quest with his crew to return
home, but in today’s stories we see more of the interplay between characters than we did in the ancient tales, where our heroes were more a collection of tourists on a cruise of the Greek islands. Instead we get more vibrant personalities with their own feelings, more a mix of hard playing
adventurous mercenaries all out for adventure, sex and money, rather than the so called sensibilities of Jane Austin’s Sense and Sensibilities.

For those actors who resist the temptations of Science Fiction, they risk being stuck in a very unrewarding career, while for those prepared to take
the plunge, Science Fiction is an amazingly lucrative way to expand their repertoire. Take Patrick Stewart; before he stared in Star Trek as Captain Pickard, he was an unknown, but today he is a star able to demand top dollar and be choosy which roles he wishes to take. In fact the same can be said for the original Star Trek team. Take Star Trek’s Mr. Spock, Leonard Nimoy who played a highly intelligent, moral, logical and scientific alien who could convey more meaning in a raise of his eyebrow than Johnny Depp can do in his
latest Pirate movie.

One suspects that the primary reason science fiction is so popular is its pro-science, optimistic ‘can do’ format, rather than the self absorbing pessimism present in much of traditional literature today.

BY NICHOLAS NEWMAN, EDITOR OXFORDPROSPECT.CO.UK

IF yours is an average street, then one in ten houses will be home to a person who is long-term ill, frail or disabled. That person will be looked after by a friend or family member who spends at least 10 hours and sometimes more that 60 hours per week in their caring role for no financial reward.
Carers are usually glad of a bit of help. Maybe you know someone who would appreciate a bit of shopping, baby-sitting, mum-sitting, or just a chat. Caring is not an easy job. It often takes place behind closed doors and can be lonely and stressful.
Some people need more help than a friendly neighbour can provide. There is a local charity that can help with benefits advice, carers breaks and other support. They also provide some much needed fun and are currently taking bookings for a summer outing to Bournemouth, an autumn shopping trip to Bristol, and a training course in massage techniques. Call The South & Vale Carers Centre on 01235 510212 for free advice, or e-mail carers@svcarers.org.uk

South & Vale Carers Centre
5 Lydalls Rd
Didcot
Oxon
OX11 7HX
Tel 01235 510212
Fax 01235 512198

I HOPE you are all enjoying this amazing weather. I am not sure that I am ? my office reached forty degrees today and I am wilting, as is my poor garden.
I am watering the pots and vegetables, and hoping the rest will acclimatise. I have noticed all the blooms are smaller in size. My heart goes out to the few clients where we planted only a few weeks ago. They must be developing superb biceps carrying watering cans!! It is now Wednesday and we have had a storm and about 10 minutes of rain ? let?s hope we get some more.

I recently came across a company offering ?The Hosepipe Ban Buster?. The system boasts ?Now you can comply with the hosepipe ban, save money and save your plants with recycled household grey water?. The company is Watermatic, tel: 01707 661188, www.watermaticltd.co.uk. They are extremely helpful on the phone. The system costs around

WHILST doing work experience at ThameNews.Net, I had the brilliant opportunity to interview sixties pop icon and actor, John Leyton.
He has just released a World Cup song, entitled ‘Hi Ho, Come on England,’released under the record label, Crash Records, based in Thame.
John is famous for his parts in such films as The Great Escape and Von Ryan?s Express. He is also remembered for his singing career, in particular the hit song, Johnny, Remember Me, released in 1962.
John?s personal taste in music is quite varied. He said that he sometimes listens to classical music but at other times he enjoys rap. He believes that besides the violent material some of the genre is notorious for, rap music is very clever and requires a great deal of talent and likened this type of music to acting. But he believes songs such as those by Eminem to be ?Vile and horrible and considered such music as ?Unnecessary.?
John?s favourite band is Oasis; he likes them because they are greatly influenced by The Beatles.
When asked which famous actors he had worked with were his favourites, John took some time to think about his answer. He said that it was a difficult question but after some consideration he decided on four actors, three of which he had worked with.
John worked with Charles Bronson in his film debut back in the sixties, in the classic, The Great Escape. John played the character Willy ? The Tunneller? Dickes. He said that he and Charles got on really well and he probably worked with Charles the most out of all his favourite colleagues.
Another of John?s favourite actors was Frank Sinatra, who he admired for winning an Oscar and making the successful transition from singer to actor. It was when working on the film Von Ryan?s Express that John worked with Sinatra, who according to John was ?A fabulous guy?.
Another of John?s favourite actors among those he had worked with, was Richard Attenborough. He had worked with him on two films. He said Attenborough was: ?A nice man and a joy to work with.? His final favourite colleague was ?the King of Cool? himself, Steve Mcqueen.
John also knew Elvis Presley, from when he was making a television show in America. The production of John?s show was taking place next to the studio where Elvis shot most of his films. John claims that Presley was also ?A really nice guy.? John was disappointed that he had not had the opportunity to ever work with ?The King?.

So how did John Leyton come to get involved in making an England World Cup hit?
He related how he was approached by music producers with the idea of him releasing a World Cup song to the tune of The Great Escape theme music because in the terraces of the stadium when England play, there is often a band playing that tune. However, during production it was decided that the tune wasn?t compatible with the music producers? vision of their World Cup song. So they decided to change the tune to that of Jeff Beck’s hit, ‘Hi Ho Silver Lining’. John said of the experience: ?It was all a bit of fun.?
When asked if he knew whether the England squad had heard his latest release, he said he didn?t know. ?There are a tremendous amount of World Cup songs.? John said, but considering that his song is in the top ten of the World Cup songs he guessed they probably had heard it.
He is publicising the record in many ways. He shot a video in Dartmouth, where the song was mixed and the video can be seen on the MTV network. He has also been travelling along the south coast of England doing radio and press interviews.
The song is being supported by Thame record label Crash Records. John says of the company, ?Crash Records has done a brilliant job.?
Whilst visiting Thame, he was given a unique present by the staff of Newitts, the local butchers’. They made him a world cup prize in the form of a pie. He said that he liked the area very much and that:?Thame has nice pies.?
The release of ‘Hi Ho Come on England’ has also put John in The Guiness Book of Records, because he hasn?t released a record since 1964. Apparently this is the longest gap between two records released by the same artist.

WIN a signed copy of John Leyton’s CD and a special ‘Hi Ho, Come On England’ T shirt, by emailing the answer to the following question:
What was the name of John Leton’s Top Ten Hit, ‘Johny, Remember Me?’

SUMMER is finally here. I am sitting in my office ? a timber shed at the bottom of my garden – and it is registering 36 degrees in here even with the air conditioning unit going at full tilt!!
It was cooler in Majorca, but then we had the ocean at our feet and a soothing sea breeze keeping us cool. I had a wonderful, and much needed break and feel ready to tackle anything. As many of you know time was quite frenzied before I went away, but hopefully I managed to complete everything and thank you all for your patience and understanding.

Ali, Jo and Cath worked really hard whilst I was away and my thanks also goes to them, particularly working in temperatures of 30 degrees on some days. The gardens they have so far tackled are looking superb ? it just goes to show what a little tlc can do. If any of you are interested in using the maintenance service, just drop me an email or pick up the phone. jfgdndesign@aol.com or 01296 747775.

This wonderful weather does nothing to help the drought situation. I read an interesting article at the weekend by Chris Beardshaw regarding ?bowsers and dousers?.
Here is an extract.

? It is a simple way of delivering water, through a hose and in hose-like quantities with no fear of a fine or worse. Put simply, all you need to do is fill a vessel (the bowser) with water, either rainwater from the guttering or ? and this is the crucial part ? from the tap. Then force the water through a hose (the douser) using an electric (or even hand-operated) pump. A spokesman from Thames Water confirmed that as long as the hose is not connected to the mains supply, it is perfectly lawful to use such a system? So how does one go about acquiring one of these gismos? First, find a water container. Anything will do ? a bucket, an old bath, a barrel or so on? Then you need a simple aquatic pump. DIY stores garden centres and suppliers of swimming pool
equipment sell something capable of showing 20 gallons a minute? The pump simply sits in your water container and is powered from your mains electricity.?

SEASONAL TIPS
Lawns will be likely to suffer in the heat and we obviously can?t water them. Don?t worry too much they are resilient and will come back in the autumn. Keep mowing regularly.

I can?t stress enough the need to water all shrubs and perennials. Any shrubs planted either last autumn and in particular this spring will need constant attention. It takes a while for them to build up a strong enough root system to withstand drought conditions, or indeed any severe weather, and they will need at least a watering can full for each plant. You might not be able to see instantly the effect of lack of water in the shrubs but the perennials will let you know by drooping and wilting, particularly if they are recently planted.

This is the month to clip box hedging. I was told many years ago it should be done on Derby Day!!

Continue to cut back any early flowering shrubs and deadhead perennials. You will often get a second flowering if this is done throughout the flowering season.

Lift and divide primulas that have flowered. This way you can increase your stock throughout the garden and they are one of the first indicators of spring with their bobbing yellow flowers.

Continue to stake perennials. They will be growing at a rate now and although we have no sign of winds and rain they can easily be blown over and spoil the summer displays.

Roses of all kinds need to be sprayed with a dedicated rose spray against aphids. Dead head roses often to promote new flowers. If you see any suckers close to the root, remove them with your hands rather than secateurs as the latter will promote new growth.

THE VEGETABLE PATCH
Mine looks a bit like a desert, but I am harvesting salad crops, broad beans (divine if you treat them like a mange tout for eating), spinach and mange tout. I thought I had lost my tomatoes, but they have just about survived lack of water for nearly two weeks. I planted courgettes, French beans, purple sprouting broccoli and more salad crops before I left and they look thirsty but haven?t died. My peach tree seems to have leaf curl, but the apples, strawberries and raspberries are doing well.

My advice if you are planting out would be to water the ground thoroughly the day before, water the pots and then water them in immediately after transplanting. If you can provide temporary shade with some netting this should help during the first week whilst they are trying to establish a root system. Water each day, or perhaps every other day to help them cope with the conditions.

Earth up the potatoes. Straw up strawberries ? I usually buy a small bag of straw from the garden centre pet section ? much easier to store. Cut back the old canes on raspberries and other cane fruit once the new suckers have appeared. Thin out apples to get a better crop.

Keep sowing salad crops every two weeks or so for a constant supply throughout the summer.

THE GREENHOUSE
Remember to shade the greenhouse if you didn?t do it last month. June is the month when plants in the greenhouse are growing at their fastest rate and they might need a nitrogen and potash feed.

Remove the side shoots from tomatoes on a regular basis.

Damp down regularly to help control spider mite.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS AND PLACES TO VISIT

HARTWELL HOUSE
21st June ? Historic garden tour and lunch. 10.30am
RHS Members