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Streptocarpus make superb houseplants. They鈥檙e easy to grow, they come in a wide range of colours and, given the right conditions, will flower for weeks on end over the summer. The trick is to grow them somewhere shaded or on a east or west-facing windowsill so that the leaves don鈥檛 get scorched by the 听sun. Watering is a key factor too. Wait until the compost feels dry before giving your plants a drink, along with a high potash feed every once in a while.听 Regular deadheading will also help to prolong the display.

(www.rhs.org.uk)

Hardening off is a process by which young plants get acclimatised to life outdoors. Wind, rain and low temperatures can all wreak havoc with plants that have been raised indoors, so it鈥檚 always best to play safe before you plant anything out.

Moving plants to a coldframe with the lid left slightly open during the day and closed at night is a good plan of action for the first week. During the second week, open the lid more and more each day until eventually it is left wide open all day and all night. If you don鈥檛 have a coldframe, simply move your plants to a sheltered, shaded spot during the day and bring them in at night. During the second week, leave them out at night but cover with a layer of fleece if it gets cold. Lifting them onto a table or bench will also help to ward off hungry slugs and snails.

(www.rhs.org.uk)

7 St George's Road
St Margarets
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London
TW1 1QS

Sophie鈥檚 parents, Jenny and Richard Raworth, have been opening their garden under the National Gardens Scheme for over 30 years now. And this year is no exception. They鈥檒l be open over the weekend of 7 & 8 June, so if fancy a visit, check out the link below for more details.

(www.raworthgarden.com)

As a rule, hedges should not be trimmed in late spring or early summer due to the risk of disturbing nesting birds. But if the ends of your hedges are getting in the way of a path, for example, it might be worth giving them a light trim. Avoid cutting back into old growth if you鈥檙e trimming Leyland cypress, and if you鈥檙e using ladders, ask someone to foot the base as you work.

(www.rhs.org.uk)

A well maintained lawn will always make your borders look that much more attractive and that includes having a crisp, clean edge all the way around. The best way of achieving this is to cut off the overhanging grass with a sharp pair听 of edging shears, keeping your back straight as you do this. If the edge of your lawn needs to be recut at all, use a half-moon edging iron and a board as a guide.

(www.rhs.org.uk)

Now that strawberries are flowering and forming fruit, it鈥檚 time to give them a mulch of straw. This helps to prevent rotting and keeps the fruit clean as it ripens. If you have quite a few plants, it鈥檚 worth putting a cloche over some of them too. This will help them to ripen a little earlier and so spread the harvest over a longer period.

听 (www.rhs.org.uk)