Your Garden In June

June is a lovely month in the garden, lots looking gorgeous and yet still plenty of things to do now which will ensure the whole garden looks even better as the summer progresses.

There’s also a notable date this month, the 16th of June is Father’s Day so why not go down the gardening route for a gift he’ll actually enjoy? Socks and aftershave are the gifts of the past. Fantastic plants, gardening tools and other gardening items are the new must-have gifts! There are so many options, whatever your budget and however keen (or reluctant) a gardener he is, it’ll be quick and easy to find a Fathers’ Day gift in your local garden centre or nursery:

• How about a patio pot, some compost and a selection of pretty plants to fill it - foliage or flowers, whichever you think he’d like best or maybe even the cream flowered patio rose ‘Cream of The Crop’?
• Some vegetable or flower seeds. There are still plenty of plants that you can raise from seed now and lower-cost gifts like this are perfect for pocket-money budgets, or for popping inside the Father’s Day card to make it that little bit more special?
• For the budding-chef-Dad maybe some BBQ tools, a BBQ apron or maybe even the BBQ itself?
• For the ‘I-just-want-to-chill’ Dad, there is always the sun-lounger, maybe even accompanied by a shade-creating parasol!

And meanwhile, what are the key gardening jobs this month? June is definitely the month for snipping and mowing – Snip or pinch off faded blooms on summer bedding, herbaceous perennials, shrubs and climbers. This ‘deadheading’ is essential to encourage more flowers and to prevent the plant from wasting energy forming seeds.

I just use my thumbnail for tender stemmed bedding and other softer plants  but for woodier stemmed plants you’ll need a good, sharp pair of secateurs to do a clean, neat job. Mow your lawn regularly and remember that small quantities of clippings can be added into the compost bin if you also have plenty of other drier material like old leave or small pruning’s to add. If it is already very hot and dry in your garden, then let the grass grow a tiny bit longer and it’ll be more drought resistant, but don’t let it get too long or it’ll look very miserable when you do re-cut it. As plants are growing really rapidly now and many are either in full flower or maybe even setting fruits, it is important to keep them well fed. If the plant is grown largely for its foliage then a ‘general’ or complete’ fertilizer works well, but if you’re after lots of flowers or fruits, then choose a high-potash fertiliser, such as one formulated especially for tomatoes or for flowering plants. It really is worth having a few different types of plant food as getting their diet right pays dividends!

It's not too late to sow seeds of vegetables and salad crops including lettuces, salad leaves, beetroot, rocket, radish, carrots, chard, dwarf French beans. Although you may still be able to get some veg plants, sow some from seed too.

And finally, before you settle back to enjoy some more alfresco dining, don’t forget that at this time of year, your garden is likely to be needing more food and water
too. Similarly, ponds and water features may well need to be topped up occasionally and, if your pond is starting to turn bright green as algae build up, consider buying a few more surface floating and oxygenating pond plants as these will both help to reduce the problem – but who needs an excuse to buy more plants anyway?!

Content By:

Pippa Greenwood