The above title is not the name of a famous firm of Plastic Surgeons, but instead is an accurate description of what you should be doing in your garden right now. Don’t be one of those gardeners who sits back and watches their plants flower once and then it’s on to Autumn. No, if you take action right now you will have flowering right through to November and the loveliness of your garden will be the envy of your friends. Most flowering plants (that are not single stem) are capable of multi-flowering, but only if you actively intervene and stop them going to seed. Once a plant has flowered it believes its work is done and it will put all its energy into making seed. Your job is to intervene cut off the flowering heads and force the plant to start again and to make a new flower. There you have it, that’s the gist of the whole thing. Let’s get on with it.
1st July. Things I have been doing lately:
🌺 Deadheading and tidying Roses. If you have Roses in your garden then you will know that they’re grow splendidly in Spain. Most Roses will flower at least twice in Spain, in March-June and again in September-November. Depending on the type of Rose some will continue to flower all Summer. But in each case it is important that you deadhead continuously and also that you tie in and cut back. The first photo below shows a typical morning trug full of deadheads, the second and third photos show a couple of lovely Roses (Tess of the D’urbervilles) that I had to move as they were not thriving. In their new position I want them to climb up wires so it is necessary to cutback any outward growing branches – marked in red. Click on each photo for a larger view.
✂️ Trimming back Lavender. Here in Spain if you do the right thing then you can have at least three flowerings of Lavender. Once the flower spikes have gone completely black, and you notice that the bees are no longer bothering to visit the plant, then this is the time to trim back. Using your secateurs or garden shears trim off all the flowering spikes. Do not trim into the main body of the plant as this will inhibit flowering and may cause die back. When you have trimmed the plant back give it a good feed to encourage the new flowering. The first photo below shows the Lavender plant in need of a trim. The second shows it trimmed back and ready for its next flowering.
✂️ Trimming back Gaura. When trimming back Gaura you apply exactly the same process as Lavender. Take off only the flower spikes. In the case of Gaura you will probably get only two flowering’s a year, but the second flowering will last from July till October. Now that is what I call good value. The first photo shows the Gaura ready for cut back whilst the second shows it trimmed. Click on each photo for a larger view.
🧟♀️ Cruella does gardening. Those familiar with this blog will know that Cruella (my wife) has introduced her own range of lifestyle clothing and household items with a gardening and witchcraft theme. In my last post she insisted that I introduce her new range, and in this post she wants me to tell you about her new female Assassin clothing range. When I questioned her about this she said it was important for female assassins to retain their femininty even if they were cold blooded killers. The photo below shows Cruella modelling her new “Lady Killer” jacket. She tells me it is bullet proof, has a blood resistant lining and a full range of pockets for knives, and guns. With an added touch of style for the lady assassin who has everything, the waist drawstring can be quickly converted to a garrotte.
Spanish Garden 
English lavender in Spain? Spanish lavender is the only species that self sows here. It also lasts longer than the others if not watered too much from above.
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