Looking around Easton College this week I have been surprised to see some of the summer bedding starting to go over. The likes of Salvias have been a blaze of colour through May and June but are now looking quite tired. The French and African marigolds need regular dead-heading to keep the flowers coming. Although not all plants need dead-heading to encourage more flowers, unless you want to collect the seed from them it is best to remove the flowers once they have gone over.

• In the vegetable garden continue sowing catch crops of lettuce, radish, autumn carrots, and wintergreens. It is worth protecting new sowings with fleece or a cloche to stop birds pulling them up and to keep cats off. The other most important job in the veg garden is to keep the hoe on the go! Knocking down weed seedlings and keeping the soil surface loose and fine to trap the moisture in the.

• Many ornamental shrubs that have just finished flowering need to be pruned now, to remove excess growth and encourage flowering next year. Use good sharp secateurs to cut out at least a third of growth that has flowered, as well as any damaged or diseased material. Apples and pears should also have a summer prune now, cutting out the soft growth that has been made in spring. Cut back to a healthy bud removing a half to two-thirds of the growth.

• Lawns should be looking good at the moment after another wet week. This is a good time to get out and check the lawn over for weeds; any small clumps can be treated with a selective weedkiller that will not affect the grass. These can be purchased in a hand-held spray ready to use. If you have more weeds than grass and you want to improve your sward, it is worth treating the whole area with a feed and weed treatment, pick a wet day or when rain is forecast to wash it into the soil. The edges of my lawn are looking a bit ragged at the moment so I need to get the edging iron out – this should be done regularly to keep the lawn looking neat. Keep any lawn edge gulleys clear of soil so the grass doesn't start to creep into the borders.

• This time of year, always try and water in the evenings. Mulch around plants with garden compost, which will absorb water, and if thoroughly soaked, this will release water into the soil. It also reduces evaporation from the soil surface. Create a shallow dish in the soil around the base of the plants to catch rain and irrigation water so that it has the chance to soak in rather than run off. Thorough watering is much more beneficial than a quick splash which can encourage the roots to remain at the surface where they are prone to drying out. Stand pot-grown plants in a bucket of water to give them a thorough soak, before removing and standing in an empty bucket. This is also a good thing to do to pot-grown plants that are about to be planted out.

• Cut back lupins and delphiniums as soon as half the flower spike has died. Mulch well with moist garden compost and feed with a trowelful of sulphate of potash and you should get good regrowth which may produce a second crop of flowers.