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So, with Summer well on its way, everything is growing fast. Just when you should be relaxing in your garden at sunset, the grass is needing to be cut again, and weeds are popping up everywhere. 

Lawn mowing should be at its shortest height now, but if it has been allowed to get too long, cut the top third off, then a few days later, cut it again, shorter still. It will thank you for not scalping it in one go.

This will minimize weeds in the lawn and help the finer more desirable grass species to spread out.

It's never too late to plant things as long as you water them in dry weather, any newly planted plants will want a good watering once a week, in dry weather until established when they will look after themselves.

When buying plants, look for "hardy perennial " on the label, these will survive our climate and return every year.

Or try growing from seed, it's the cheapest way to get colour, wildlife, fragrance and interest in your garden and it's not too late to plant hardy annuals such as nasturtiums and corn flowers, which although they are annuals, they set many seeds which can be collected for next year or left to spread.

Even hardy perennial seeds could be started now, but you might not see them flower until next year depending on what you choose and how fast they grow but they will come back and get bigger.

Trees should be providing a welcome shade from the hot July sun, and shouldn't be pruned while actively growing, also birds maybe nesting, so no tree work can be carried out while birds are nesting. Conifers can be trimmed if grown as a hedge, but specimen trees should be left until winter for pruning.