Finally, summer is here and your garden is in full bloom. There are lots to do in the garden in June including lots of watering and weeding and even harvesting some fruit. We share our advice on what to to do and plant in the garden in June.
1. Tie-in climbers
The beauty of climbing plants, such as Clematis, Virginia Creeper and Honeysuckle, is that they twist themselves around anything they come into contact with and support themselves.
However, sometimes their stems can fall astray and they need pointing in the right direction. Simply tuck them into the rest of the plant or tie them wherever you want them to grow.
Another thing to look out for is when a mass of stems all cling to each other. When this happens, eventually the weight of this mass will take a tumble. If it looks possible that this might happen, tie the whole lot to something sturdy (it may look as if it has been lassoed for a short while but new stems will soon cover the string).
2. Feed summer bedding plants
Little and often is the best way to feed your plants. Only use very diluted fertiliser, anything too strong can scorch your plants and possibly kill them. Feeding once a week is just the right amount.
It’s best to feed your plants as early as possible in the mornings, this gives them a chance to absorb some of the feed before it gets too hot, it also helps prevent scorching from the sun.
3. Watering
It’s important to keep an eye on your beds and borders when the weather’s warm and it’s a good idea to give them a good soak at least once a week.
Hanging Baskets and pots will need watering every day through the summer.
It’s best to water your plants in the evening once the temperature has dropped as watering in the middle of the day can cause scorch as water droplets sitting on the leaves act as a magnifying glass.
Watering in the evening allows the water to properly soak into the soil rather than evaporating in the heat, you can also water your plants in the early morning before it gets too hot.
4. Deadheading roses
Deadheading starts now and continues right through to the end of autumn. Cut off each spent flower head as and when you spot them.
On floribunda varieties, wait until all of the flowers on the stem have passed and cut it off at the base (where it meets the branch).
5. General weeding
Before your bedding and perennials take over the beds and borders, weeds have the ideal growing conditions, space, light, warmth and water, which can prove to be a bit of a problem.
The best way to tackle these is regular hoeing or hand weeding in between your ornamental plants.
Once you have hoed the weeds in your beds and borders they can be raked off to leave a clean surface.
Weeds on paving and gravel can be sprayed with herbicide unless you have an organic garden in which case a combination of hand-weeding and hoeing is best.
6. Remove weeds from the lawn
Any tap-rooted weeds, such as dandelions, will be popping up on the lawn every day. It’s best to keep on top of them and there are a number of different methods for doing this:
- Hand fork: You can dig a weed out with a hand fork although it can leave it looking a bit messy.
- Bulb planter: Your bulb planter can have a dual purpose! Position it over the offending weed and remove the entire core of the soil. The soil can then be removed from the weeds, roots and put back in the hole.
7. Deadhead spring flowering perennials
Spring flowering perennials, such as Peonies, Aquilegias, Hellebores and Dicentra look fantastic in the spring, sadly the flowers begin to lose their colour, gradually going brown by the end of June.
Using secateurs, cut the flower stem off at a nodal point (where the leaves are growing from the stem).
For Hellebores, cut the entire flower stem off at ground level.
8. Cut sweet pea flowers
Sweet Peas are one of the ultimate treats of summer, they smell wonderful and make fantastic cut flowers.
The best thing is, the more you cut them, the more flowers they produce!
With Sweet Peas you can enjoy a vase full of sweetly fragranced flowers in your home for most of the summer.
9. Harvest strawberries
Now’s the time to enjoy those strawberries! Remember, the more you pick, the more will grow, so harvest your strawberries on a daily basis.
If you end up with too many, why not preserve them so you can enjoy the taste of summer later on in the year?
Making jam is one of the most popular ways of preserving jam, nothing compares to the taste of homegrown strawberry jam!
We hope this guide has provided lots of ideas of what to do and plant in the garden in June. Why not get started by looking at our fantastic range of strawberry plants.