July is a fairly quiet time in the garden. Harvesting crops and preventing plants from drying out will be your main focus.
Deadheading
For a continuous supply of flowers keep deadheading.
Remove diseased leaves from roses
Remove diseased leaves from roses to help prevent the disease reappearing next year.
Watering
I try not to water many plants as water is often rationed at this time of year and my stored rainwater supplies are not large and given the types of summers we have in France (and often the UK these days) I try to grow plants which are drought tolerant. But I do use loads of mulch
Mulching
Mulch all bare patches of soil to prevent water loss. I mulch everywhere in order to preserve the small amount of water in the soil in the summer in the South of France. I use straw (the farmer who cuts my fields for hay gives me a large bail of straw in return), bark (from the wood cutting my husband does for our winter supply of firewood), newspaper, compost, lawn cuttings. Really anything I can get my hands on.
I do not put the mulch right up against stems of perennials to avoid mould and rot. Because the decomposition of the mulch could use nitrogen from the soil I tend to save the mulches which are still decomposing, such as newly mown grass, for under shrubs or trees as they have long roots to search further for valuable nutrients.
Rose care
Mulch roses to conserve water.
Deadhead to get more blooms.
Feed roses, horse manure is particularly good for roses.
In the Potager
Every French garden will have a vine somewhere. Remove any excess shoots so that sun and nutrients can be concentrated on the grapes.
Harvest any crops that are ready.
Keep pinching out the shoots on tomatoes which try to grow between the stem and main trusses.
Sow: spring cabbage, turnips, salad crops, French beans
Wildlife
Keep bird baths topped up.
