Its June already and our gardens are in full swing. Our spring plants are finished and summer is well on its way.

 Garden Jobs

1. If practical remove faded flower heads from Rhododendrons, remove all unopened buds as they may contain bud blast.
2. Finish planting out your summer bedding plants.
3. Keep hoeing off weed seedlings from your flower beds and in pots.
4. Now’s the time to sow next years biennials such as foxgloves, sweet William, forget-me-not and wallflowers.
5. Stake any new delphiniums and other tall perennials.
6. Deadhead delphiniums and lupins to encourage a second flush of flowers.
7. Take softwood cuttings from tender plants such as Fuchsia, Pelargonium, Argyranthemum and shrubs such as Buddleja, hydrangea and Lavandula. See my post on how to take soft wood cuttings, its so simple any one can do it!
8. Trim your topiary such as Buxus (Box) and Yew.
9. Sow your winter flowering plants such as pansies and ornamental cabbages.
10. Tie in shoots of rambling roses horizontally to encourage better flowering.
11. Be water wise don’t drown plants especially tender new plants. Priorities watering in drought for leafy vegetables, container plants and newly planted ornamentals.
12. Water the crowns of tree ferns as most of their roots are here not at the base.
13. If you have Bearded Irises divide these after they have flowered.
14. Remove the old leaves and flowering stems for flowering Hellebores and collect their seeds.
15. Damp down your green houses to raise the humidity and discourage red spider mite.
16. Apply a high nitrogen feed to your lawns, do not do this in time of drought.
17. If you have a pond or a boggy area now is a good time to plant out new aquatic plants.

Veggie Plot To Do List

1. Feed your fruit and vegetables that are growing in pots or growing bags.
2. Keep your ripening strawberries off the ground by using straw this helps to stop them rotting on the soil.
3. Your first, second and salad potatoes should be ready to harvest. First remove the soil around one or two plants to check the size of the tubers.
4. Don’t forget to remove side shoots on cordon tomatoes. Support the plants as they grow.
5. You can now plant out tender vegetables such as tomatoes, squash, peppers and cucumbers. If we are forecast any cold nights cover with horticultural fleece.
6. You can directly sow squash, runner beans, courgettes, pumpkins and French runner beans, if you live in the north delay sowing until later in the month.
7. This years new stems on cane fruits e.g. raspberry’s need supporting.
8. Keep picking your salad crops such as lettuce and spinach.
9. Thin fruit especially on trees such as apples, plums and on vines such as grapes this encourages larger fruit and helps to reduce the risk of branches breaking.
10. Tear off the suckers developing at the base of ornamental trees and roses. If on a rose don’t forget your thorn proof gloves and chain mail.
11. Harvest your early peas, if you want an autumn crop now is the time to sow for them.
12. Prune your well trained plums and cherries.
13. Cover ripening fruit with nets to stop birds eating your fruit. Remember they will find any gaps you have.
14. Stop cutting your asparagus and top dress your patch with a general purpose fertiliser.