Back to school and an education for us all in the garden!

Let’s face it; we all dread the end of summer and the sound of the school bell summoning us back to the classroom, or if you are like me and most of the UK, back to an air conditioned office!. However, I think this is a good time to soak up the remainder of the ‘summer’ we have had and get out in our gardens pronto before it is too late!

I have learnt this summer how the majority of my friends (aged in their 20’s) have no desire to work on and improve their gardens, simply because they don’t know what to do. I know this feeling more than most, August 13^th 2007 to be exact. It was a warm summer’s day and I had decided that I was going to help my mum out with weeding the garden. Unfortunately I didn’t know the difference between a weed and a plant, therefore ending my will to do any gardening EVER again. I had just destroyed years of my mum nurturing plants from seed. Oops. Thankfully I’m still alive to tell the tale and it has made me want to question everyone I know ‘do you know the difference between a weed and a plant?’. Armed with their answers and a bit of my own research, I have come up with the following guide:

• Take your time in determining whether the plant really is a weed or not. Especially if you have just moved into a new garden.
• Allow the plant to develop its true leaves before you consider pulling it out. The first set of leaves a plant develops are often very different to their adult leaves and you may mistake the identity of the plant!
• Take a close look at the area the suspected weed is growing - does it appear more than once within this area? If it does and its leaves do not match any of the other plants in the border (which may have self seeded) then it is more than likely a weed.
• Use a reference guide to identify the leaf and flower to make informed decisions. Here are a couple of good resources I stumbled across during my research:

http://www.downgardenservices.org.uk/weedlf.htm  (identification by leaf)

http://www.downgardenservices.org.uk/weedflower.htm (identification by flower)

• Some of these weeds can be pretty and nice to have in the garden - there is a fine line between a weed and a wild flower! As long as you keep it under control it may be nice to leave some of them growing in the garden. 
• Tools Needed:
• Trowel (we recommend the Burgon and Ball Trowel)
• Gloves - Standard or Gauntlet
• Hoe
• Bucket or storage bag to transport weeds into compost heap

I feel I have now educated those of you who are not so confident in the garden, however, for those of us who are, please make sure you teach your children/friends and family and keep up the knowledge and joy gardening can bring. It looks set to be an Indian summer this September so make sure you enjoy the remainder of your summer garden (weed free)