Worplesdon Garden Club is a friendly and enthusiastic club which meets every second Tuesday of the month from 8-10pm in the Old Church, Emmanuel Parish Centre, Stoughton, Guildford, GU2 9SJ with doors open from 7.45pm.

We have a full schedule of speakers throughout the year, plus a range of social events including Garden Visits, Lunches, Coach Trips, Barbeques, and Horticultural Shows. Visitors and new members are always welcome.

Club Meetings

July: Chris Rhodes – ‘Little Trees & Misconceptions About Bonsai’, Tuesday 12th July at 8pm at Emmanuel Parish Centre, Stoughton.

August: ‘Summer Show and Social’, Tuesday 9th August, 8pm, Fairlands Community Centre, Fairlands Avenue. Note change of venue for this meeting.

Gardening hints and tips for July & August

• Extend the flower show in your garden with regular deadheading
• Feed annual and perennials, and all plants growing in tubs or containers fortnightly with a high potash/potassium (K) liquid fertiliser
• Also use high-potassium fertiliser weekly on tomatoes and cucumbers growing in pots or growbags
• Remove the lower leaves of tomato plants to allow more light to reach the ripening trusses
• Keep all pots, containers & hanging baskets well-watered and do not let the compost dry out completely
• Sow seeds of biennials such as wallflowers, foxgloves, and sweet rocket, and perennials such as primulas, pansies and violas
• In the vegetable garden continue to succession sow lettuce, carrots, beetroot and radishes
• Pick fruit and vegetables regularly – this is especially true for beans and peas that will reduce or stop flowering as mature pods ripen, and for courgettes that will become marrows if left too long
• Garlic should be ready to harvest towards the end of July. Harvest, dry and store the bulbs before the tops are completely dead as they can be difficult to find in the soil and the cloves will split in the bulbs
• In August, lift and dry onions and shallots prior to storage
• Prune Wisteria in late July and August by cutting back the long stems of this year’s growth to about five or six leaves
• Prune all stone fruits (plum, cherry, peach, etc.) and any of apples and pears trained as an espalier, cordon or fan, in August
• Trim hedges once birds have finished nesting – usually by August
• Trim Lavender after flowering by removing most, or all, of this year’s growth to keep bushes compact and in shape, but do not cut back hard into older wood as this may not regrow
• Take photographs and make notes of what looks good in the garden and what may need moving or splitting in the autumn
• Keep weeding or hoeing on dry days to remove surface weeds before they can set seed
• Cut any wildflower areas, leaving the cuttings to dry for a few days and to let any seeds to fall before raking clear and removing
• Lawns in general should be cut with mower blades set high if the weather is hot and dry

Above all else, don’t forget to just sit back and really enjoy your garden.