Garden digest - July 2018
Tips and tricks for gardeners indoors and out
Secateurs in the city
Without wishing to wish away the long summer days, some readers might wish to start planning trips in September. The annual autumnal parks festival in Paris (Fête des jardins et de l’agriculture urbaine) offers many places to visit.
A total of 40 sites are open to visitors including Parc Monceau (8th arrondissement), Parc Georges Brassens (15th, above), Parc de Bercy (12th) and offer rich programmes to raise awareness of environmental and ecological issues.
Free activities include guided tours, games, gardening workshops, concerts, and walks... something for all tastes.
www.parisinfo.com
A picture in pastel
Given that ultra-violet is the ‘colour of 2018’ as designated by the colour experts at Pantone (number 18-3838, to be precise), why not give your garden a sprinkle of pale purple perfection. The obvious candidates are lavender, rosemary and basil, but Scabiosa columbaria Butterfly Blue or the very elegant Arum Picasso – can be set off beautifully with a coat of eggshell paint on your fencing or pots.
Keep cool and shine bright
This 3x2metre rectangular ‘sail’ shade has a double function. During the day, it is ideal for creating a corner of shade in your garden or on your balcony.
Then at sunset after charging all day, its 100 LEDs light up to offer you a starry sky for six hours at a time.
The 180 g/m² polyester fabric is waterproof and UV resistant and the canopy is is ultra resistant to wind thanks to reinforcements at the ends and on each side of the fabric.
Price: €79.90 from Conforama
The big seep
Heading off on your holidays this month? Stave off the dread of dead plants upon your return with an automatique watering system.
There are many options available, including: microporous ceramic watering cones (cônes d’arrosage) which fix to an inverted bottle and are entirely autonomous; multi-pot watering systems, which require the water-filled vessel to be at least 75cm higher than the pots; water-retaining gels made of cellulose that slowly transform into water while in the soil (up to 30 days autonomy); and low-pressure micro-irrigation systems running from the garden tap.
Other traditional hosepipe (tuyaux)-based solutions are available.
