These are the 13 chores you can do in your garden at the beginning of July

This week is expected to be hot, so get out into the garden in the morning or evening to get started on our practical chores for week #27. Happy gardening!
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With the Gardeners' World checklist, you'll get a fresh dose of ideas and inspiration for your garden every week. Which plants and flowers can you sow right now? Which chore in the vegetable garden should you absolutely not postpone any longer? And is this the right time to prune that one tree or shrub? It can sometimes be difficult to make decisions, so take a look at a handy list of garden chores you can do now.

July is the last month in which you can sowlarkspur . If you do so now, you will have flowers next summer. If you choose single-flowered varieties, the bees will also enjoy them.

Do you encounter rust (orange-brown 'deposit') on your hollyhocks ? Cut away the affected leaves as soon as possible to prevent further spreading. It is better not to compost these leaves, as fungi can remain in the soil. Instead, throw them in the green waste bin.

You step outside and the smell hits you: lavender ! Preserve some of this scent for the rest of the year by drying lavender. Stems with flowers that have just opened have the strongest scent, so you want those! Hang them to dry in a cool, dark place with good ventilation.


Have your roses had their first bloom? Prune them back by about a third to encourage new growth and flowers.

Are there huge amounts of apples hanging on your trees? Then thin out the apples . Remove all misshapen, damaged or undersized fruit. This way all the energy goes to the remaining fruit. You can also apply this to pears and plums.


If you want to add some extra colour and tasty garden greens to your garden, you can sow Swiss chard directly into the ground in your vegetable beds this month. They even fit into ornamental borders!

Get started growing your own food and use your fresh harvest in 1 of the more than 50 recipes, also from famous Dutch and Flemish chefs! And perhaps the best part: by getting started with our practical tips you will experience the pleasure and pride of putting something on the table that you have grown yourself.
- Our best tips for year-round cooking from your own garden
- From terrace to allotment: vegetable gardening is possible everywhere!
- With recipes from famous Dutch and Flemish chefs


Sow your last crop of peas outdoors for a late harvest, allowing them to develop before the first frost.

Wasps prevent plagues of flies, horseflies and mosquitoes, and they help pollinate flowers in your garden. Therefore, leave wasp nests alone, in the autumn the nest will die of its own accord. If they are in your shed or close to a walking route, you can see if you can combat them in a natural way. Do not use poison, because that also kills bees, butterflies and other insect species.


It's July and that means: sow spring flowering perennials! It's the perfect time to sow for next year. Fill seed trays with good quality (peat-free) potting soil and sow plants such as foxglove ( Digitalis ) , bellflowers (such as the rough bellflower ) and turtle flower ( Penstemon ) in your greenhouse.

With the predicted hot weather, check daily that your plants in the greenhouse are not too dry. Water immediately in the morning or in the evening to prevent too much moisture loss through evaporation.
