July Gardening Tips: Keeping Colour and Wildlife Thriving at the Height of Summer

July marks the height of summer, with vibrant colour, buzzing wildlife, and plants at their peak - accompanied by a blanket of record-breaking heat this year, with both May and June setting new UK temperature highs. Brush past a bed of lavender and tune your nose to its heady scent, a reminder how much these green spaces are doing for us, cooling streets, cleaning air and giving wildlife somewhere to shelter.

Across the Q&S gardens, roses continue to put on a show, hydrangeas are unfurling their blowsy heads and our clients’ wildflower meadows are also busy with life, a gentle hum of pollinators, making the most of the of the long, balmy days. 

To keep the displays looking their best, our gardeners are busy deadheading spent blooms and staking tall plants that might otherwise flop in windy conditions. This year’s heat has made watering a bigger part of the job too. It’s vital we water thoughtfully and sustainably - with a mind to the current strain on this resource - to help plants cope without wasting a drop. 

Green spaces play such an important role in the wider plan for sustainable cityscape – absorbing carbon, improving air quality, reducing urban heat and providing valuable habitat for wildlife. Benefits that come into sharp focus during spells of extreme heat likes the ones we’ve already experienced this summer. Habitat isn’t just about bird boxes, ponds and flowers either, it’s about the quieter, easily missed spaces where wildlife shelters and rests.

Q&S’s Garden Notes – July

4 simple things to focus on this month:

1. Support pollinators

Choose plants like Digitalis, Verbena, and Rudbeckia to provide nectar and pollen for bees and butterflies.

2. Water well

During dry spells, water regularly but sustainably to protect plants from heat stress.

3. Deadhead often

Remove faded flowers to extend blooming and keep beds looking tidy.

4. Stake tall growers

Support plants like Verbenas and Foxgloves to stop them falling over.

These simple jobs help keep gardens healthy, colourful and resilient as summer reaches its peak – and this year, they matter more than ever. 

The Q&S gardening team will be back soon with more practical advice, seasonal tasks and inspiration, drawn from the landscapes we design, install and care for throughout the year. 

To find out more about how we keep commercial gardens in tip-top condition, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..