The July Garden: A Midsummer Reverie

The Fleur Kitchen
Jul 1
2 min read

Whispers from The Fleur Kitchen Potager

July is a garden in full song—a tangled symphony of bees in the lavender, courgette blossoms yawning at first light, and berries ripening in the dappled hush of afternoon shade. It's a month for both gentle tending and jubilant gathering, where the soil is warm, the air scented with tomato leaves, and the pantry begins to hum with future preserves.

So slip on your straw hat, bring a basket (or two), and let’s wander through the midsummer garden…

What to Plant in July

Though summer feels high and heady, the planting year is far from over. Now is the time for second sowings and a quiet nod to autumn’s promise.

Sow Outdoors:

Beetroot – for a late-summer harvest or baby beets in autumn roasts.
Spring onions – sown now, they’ll be crisp and ready as summer wanes.
Carrots – especially the short or round varieties for cooler soil.
Lettuce, endive, and salad leaves – opt for bolt-resistant kinds, and sow little and often.
French beans (dwarf varieties) – a final flourish of pods before the chill creeps in.
Kohlrabi & turnips – sweet and quick-maturing, perfect for late-year soups.

Sow Indoors or Under Cover:

Coriander & dill – bolt-prone in heat, but happy in pots tucked into shade.
Chicory & radicchio – the start of your bitter and beautiful winter salads.

What to Harvest in July

Now the garden overflows—bowls brimming, fingers stained with berry juice, and every walk to the veg patch a treasure hunt.

Harvest Now:

Strawberries, raspberries, blackcurrants & gooseberries – for jams, crumbles, or straight off the bush.
Courgettes – harvest young and often; they multiply like summer magic.
Lettuce & rocket – pick leaves in the cool of the morning.
Broad beans & peas – sweet jewels in their silken pods.
New potatoes – lifted with reverence and buttered without apology.
Garlic & onions – when leaves yellow and flop, hang to dry like braids of sunshine.
Herbs – mint, basil, oregano—clip generously and dry for winter teas and stews.

Garden Jobs for July

July is the season of both abundance and gentle discipline. A time for pinching, tying, gathering, and sipping lemonade in between.

Watering – early morning or twilight, deeply and kindly. Prioritise containers, seedlings, and anything newly planted.
Weeding – little and often keeps chaos at bay. A quiet meditation among the marigolds.
Mulch, mulch, mulch – conserve moisture, banish weeds, and pamper the soil.
Deadhead flowers – keep blooms coming (and vases full).
Pinch out side shoots on tomatoes – to concentrate the plant’s sweetness.
Harvest herbs for drying – hang in bunches somewhere cool and airy.
Net soft fruit – before the birds beat you to the feast.
Sow green manures in bare patches – mustard, phacelia, or crimson clover.
Make time for tea – with fresh mint and honey, under the nearest shady tree.

"In summer, the song sings itself" – William Carlos Williams

Whether you are harvesting garlic with soil still clinging to its roots, sowing another row of beetroot with a dreamy glance toward September, or simply watching bees bob in the borage, may your July be rich in flavour, fragrance, and a little magic.