Tips on early summer gardening from a kitchen garden in the Scottish countryside | House & Garden

23.06.2023 - 10:25 / houseandgarden.co.uk

The transitional days from winter to spring and summer to autumn are visually the most inspiring to me. Trying to spot the very first subtle changes that signal the arrival of a new season brings a quiet feeling of rejuvenation and mentally kick-starts my motivation for fresh projects, both indoors and out. Summer, however, is the season when I slow down – or at least try to – to observe and relish the completed projects of seasons past as well as a garden in lush, fresh bloom.

You’ll often find me outside with the sunrise, still in my PJs and whatever shoes are lying closest to the bootroom door, with the first cuppa of the day in hand. In the early morning quiet I wander from bed to bed looking for new blooms, and note the progress on everything from roses to tomatoes. I’ll take the opportunity to water the kitchen garden early if a hot day is on the horizon, and snack on some fresh peas that I pick while opening the greenhouse.

Early morning is the best time to gather produce from the kitchen garden and also flowers from the potager – they are less likely to wilt and will remain at their freshest for longer. Having a bucket of water to pop the blooms into, along with a sharp pair of snips, makes this an easy task.

As I go along, I make mental notes, or if I’m really prepared I pull up a notes app on my phone and jot down future planting ideas and dividing or transplanting tasks for the early autumn months or following spring.

By now the kitchen garden has started to produce the first early crops. They are often very small, and never enough for a meal, so they hardly ever make it to the kitchen – but, my word, how rewarding they are; a single strawberry, the first peppery radish, a handful of spinach. Garden joy…

With any