June is suddenly here, a lovely month in the garden with long days and everything growing like mad.
Here’s a few things to do in the garden in June to keep it all ticking over nicely.
Tender plants
like pelargoniums, busy-lizzies etc can be planted out now as the danger of frost has gone.
Pelargonium attar of roses
Flower seeds to sow:
Sow biennial seeds like foxgloves and wallflowers, biennials germinate and start growing into little plants in their first year, then they grow properly and flower in their second year.
pink foxgloves touring above the border
Zinnias are those brightly coloured little flowers that you see at markets in France. They’re less likely to germinate in cooler temperatures, so June is the perfect time to sow them.
How to sow:
- choose a sunny area, dig or hoe the soil to remove any lumps
- make a shallow line with the end of a garden cane, water it and and sow the seeds, check the seed packed for planting depth
- stick a plant label in
- water them daily at first if it doesn’t rain and thin them out as they get bigger
- transfer them to their final growing position in early spring next year.
Bulbs:
finally it’s time to remove all that yellow and withered foliage that’s been hanging around, up to this point the leaves are needed by the bulb so it can bulk up ready for next year.
I always use fresh, new bulbs in plant pots, so I recycle the old bulbs, digging them out of plant pots and re-planting them in the garden or at the allotment. They can be stored in the shed until September, but I know I’ll probably forget all about them if I do that.
Roses:
Snip off all the old flowers just above a new pair of leaves and more flowers will be produced.
roses and silvery convolvulus cneorum in the background
Climbing plants:
Loosely tie in new growth on climbing plants like clematis as they grow. I use brown coloured jute so it blends in, making a figure of eight loop around the stem and its’ support, this prevent any friction that could damage the soft, new stems.
Keep weeding little and often so they don’t take over and become a problem. I already have a problem with bind weed in my new garden, I’m not using chemicals so I’m pulling it out and digging up as much of the root as possible, it’ll take longer but I’ll win the battle eventually.
Pests:
Pests love sun and rain as much as the plants.
Lily beetle will devastate lillies unless they’re picked off and squashed. They’re bright red, so easy to spot. Their only defence is dropping off the plant and lying on their backs displaying their black bellies and making them difficult to spot, so a bit of stealth like creeping up is required.
Keep an eye out for aphids on new plant growth, the easiest way to remove it is to put gardening gloves on and gently run your fingers up the stem to remove them.
It’s a good time to enjoy everything whenever you get the chance, I always keep a chair by the back door so I can sit outside for a cuppa when the sun is shining, even if I only have ten minutes.
More about pelargoniums here and growing flowers from seed here.
Happy gardening, Jill
all photos: Jill Anderson
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