June Gardener's Calendar
Ah Blooming June! It’s wonderful to enjoy long hot summer days in the garden at this time of year, and watch the garden burst with growth, but many areas are prone to drought. This is a good time to start a gardening notebook and note those plants which withstand drought conditions. It’s a good idea is to use mulch to reduce the need for watering.
There’s plenty to do in the garden during long summer days
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Sowing and planting
If you haven’t done so, plant out summer bedding and make sure that you water them well to keep them moist during dry spells. Fill the gaps in your herbaceous borders with annual bedding.
Perennials such as Delphiniums and Lupins can be sown directly into drills outside when the seed heads have split. Many varieties of winter bedding, such as wallflowers, pansies and ornamental cabbages should be sown between now and July for this autumn/ winter.
Sow Hellebore seed once they have ripened and been harvested. Sow them immediately, while they are fresh. Hellebores need a winter in the ground to encourage germination.
Plant autumn flowering bulbs such as Crocuses and Cyclamen.
Tidying your garden – Cut back, prune and divide
Now is time to prune your spring flowering shrubs like early flowering clematis, Deutzia and Vibernum.
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Dead head Azaleas, Irises, Pansies, Violas and Roses also dead head Rhododendrons when they have finished flowering but be careful to remove the dead flower without damaging the new shoots. Cut off the flowers from Lupins and Delphiniums as they fade. Tall and floppy plants, such as Delphiniums, Hollyhocks and Peonies will need a stake to support them. Also, you will need to tie in Climbing and Rambling Roses. Any other trailing plants can be trimmed to encourage fresh growth and new blooms.
Hybrid Tea Roses can be disbudded - remove smaller buds from the cluster that forms at the shoot tip and leave the largest central bud to develop into large show stopping blooms.
June Garden Maintenance
Don’t neglect container plants; feed them with plant food every 2-4 weeks.
Water hanging baskets and containers, as they will dry out faster than your beds, but try to use collected rainwater wherever possible.
Keep on top of weeds. You can use a trowel or hand fork for deep rooted perennial weeds like dandelions, but using a hoe on is a great way to quickly slice into the soil and remove the weeds. Hoeing on a sunny day is best as you can leave the weeds to shrivel up and die quickly.
Sweet Peas love to grow up wigwams. Gently tie plants into supports to encourage Sweet Peas to climb.
Pests are out this month so check Roses for signs of blackspot & aphids.
Protect
Vine Weevil larvae can be a serious pest of containerised plants and become active this month.
Aphids multiply rapidly this month and into the summer. Remove early infestations by hand to prevent the problem getting out of control.
Protect vulnerable plants from slugs and snails – like Lily, Delphiniums and Hostas.
Vegetables
Sow Beetroot, Lettuces, Carrots, French and Runner beans, Peas, Spring Onions directly into the warm soil.
Plant out vegetables that you have started indoors such as Courgettes, Cucumbers, Tomatoes. Harden them off before planting them out.
Harvest Lettuce, Radish and other Salads and Early Potatoes and pull up baby Beetroot.
Tend to Tomatoes by removing the side shoots on Tomato plants as soon as they appear at the base of a leaf.