Sun bathers

THE July weather has certainly sorted out the sun lovers in the garden, with many plants really suffering in the dry heat. Hydrangeas that usually do so well in our damp summers have wilted and have needed watering for the first time since they were planted, while bedding such as lobelia looks as though it won't make it to the end of the season.

Other plants, however, are thriving in the sun. Achillea and fennel are tall and strong and herbs such as rosemary, marjoram, lavender and thyme have filled their bed with aromatic leaves and blooms. The erigerons have also done well this year, enjoying the rays and the warm soil.

Erigeron or fleabane is an old-fashioned cottage garden plant that has been grown for hundreds of years. There are low-growing species and taller, border ones, but they all like the same conditions of well-drained soil and sun and will also tolerate the salty air of a seaside garden.

The dwarf fleabanes include Erigeron aureus with dense tufts of grey leaves and large golden flowers that grow up to 5cm/2ins tall and E.leiomerus with a mat of shiny foliage topped with small lavender blue flowers 8cm/3ins tall. These plants can be hard to find and in the case of E.aureus hard to grow.

Much easier is Erigeron karvinskianus, sometimes called Profusion' or Erigeron mucronatus, with masses of single white daisies from June to October. Growing 15-20cm/5-8ins high, it is easy to grow from seed and often used as a bedding plant, although I have found mine to be hardy enough to survive in the garden for several years.

The daisies fade to pink and then purple as they age, giving more interest to the plant, which usually carries blooms in each stage at once. Self seeding can be a problem, especially if grown as a rockery plant, but a position at the front of a border in competition with other plants will help to keep this to a minimum.

Taller varieties include plants in shades of pink and blue from the light pink single-flowered Charity' to the deep violet Schwarzes Meer'. I have a lilac blue variety, possibly Azure Beauty', growing with a michaelmas daisy, Aster frikartii Monch', which is almost exactly the same colour with a similar yellow centre.

This pairing is probably a mistake since they are so similar and also flower at the same time, but they do make a good clump of blooms in July and August.

Gardening TV and Radio

Sunday.

9am, Radio Leeds, Tim Crowther with Joe Maiden.

2pm, R4, Gardeners' Question Time. A postbag edition with Chris Beardshaw, Bob Flowerdew, Anne Swithinbank and chairman Peter Gibbs. The gardening weather forecast is at 2.25pm.

Saturday, July 29.

8am, Radio York, Gardening Phone-in. Presented by Nigel Harrison. Telephone number 0845 300 3000.

Weekend catch-up

IF the weather remains hot, do nothing in the garden apart from watering containers and vulnerable plants out in the beds, then find a shady spot and relax in a deckchair.

Garden news

THE Ancient Society of York Florists will hold its Summer Horticultural Show tomorrow in the Conference Hall at Askham Bryan College, York from 11am to 3.30pm.

Despite the difficult growing season this year a late spring followed by the recent soaring temperatures and dry weather there will be the usual excellent show of plants from dedicated growers who come from an increasingly wide area to attend the shows put on by the society.

The summer event includes those seasonal favourites pelargoniums and sweet peas some of which will be from national exhibitors.

Admission is £1 and there is plenty of free parking in the nearby car park.

Open gardens

Tomorrow.

Hob Green, Markington, near Harrogate, the garden is one mile from Markington village. Garden with an extensive herbaceous border, feature lawns, rockery and Victorian kitchen garden. Teas available. Open 2pm-5pm. Admission £3 adult, 50p child over five.

In aid of the National Gardens Scheme.

Bridge Farm House, Long Lane, Great Heck, six miles south of Selby. Large garden with mature trees, long double herbaceous borders backed by newly planted hedges, large collection of perennials, shrubs, bulbs and plants in pots, pond with gravelled area and small woodland area. Teas available. Open 11am-4pm. Admission £2.

In aid of the British Red Cross.

Thorpe Farm House, Lockington, midway between Beverley and Driffield off the A164. Wildlife-friendly cottage garden started from scratch in 2001 with orchard, courtyard and flower gardens, ponds, poly tunnels and paddock. Open 2pm-5pm. Admission £2.50.

Wednesday.

In aid of the National Gardens Scheme.

Hunmanby Grange, Wold Newton, 12.5 miles south-east of Scarborough on the road from Burton Fleming to Fordon. Three-acre garden created from an exposed field with hedges and fences now providing shelter for a series of garden rooms planted for year-round colour with seasonal highlights. Open 1pm-5pm. Admission £2.50. www.hunmanbygrange.co.uk The Walled Garden at Scampston, five miles east of Malton. A new garden designed by award-winning Piet Ouldorf who has created a contemporary layout in the four and a half-acre walled garden with perennial meadow planting and grasses in his signature style. Open 10-5pm. Admission house and garden £9.50 adult, £5 child 12-16, garden only £5 adult, £3 child, £4.50 concessions. www.scampston.co.uk Saturday July 29 and Sunday July 30.

In aid of the Candlelighters and CLIC Sargent Children's Cancer Charities.

58 Rawcliffe Lane, off Water Lane, Clifton, York. Suburban garden packed with interesting plants and winner of York In Bloom. There are two established ponds, pergolas, rockeries, pots and tubs, a gazebo, brick paths and many perennials from cottage garden favourites to more unusual hard to find specimens. Open 10am-5pm. Admission £2 adult, 50p child (includes a cup of tea or coffee).