Net this
Blueberries should be plumping up nicely now. Net them so it’ll be you, not the birds, enjoying a juicy harvest. Or, if they’re in pots, move them to a high-traffic area too busy for birds to venture into – by your kitchen door, for instance – for harvest season. If your blueberries’ leaves are turning yellow apart from green veins, the soil is probably not acidic enough: remedy by adding sulphur chips or mulching with composted pine needles.
Sniff this
If you’re searching for the ultimate sweet pea, visit Easton Walled Gardens in Lincolnshire, where it’s sweet pea week from 5-12 July. There are more than 100 types of sweet pea on display in the 12-acre gardens, and you can pick your own and buy seeds, too.
Plant this
Say hydrangeas and many of us still think of the stiff blue mop-headed shrubs of our grandparents’ gardens. But modern breeding brings all kinds of goodies, including ‘Hot Chocolate’. This hardy shrub produces pink and blue blooms up to 30cm across from May to October, framed by chocolate-brown foliage. Height and spread: 3m x 3m. Buy one for £11.99 or two for £18.98 (prices include free mainland p&p). Call 0330 333 6856, quoting ref GU355, or go to theguardian.com/offers/plants. Dispatched in July.
