This Month in Your Garden - June

‘Roses are red, violets are blue; But they don’t get around like the dandelions do.’ Slim Acres  

There’s plenty of hoeing in June, especially with a warm start to the month, and you prefer to control weeds without using weedkillers. Manual removal, burning, putting in weed barriers and covering with a mulch such as bark join the hoe in dealing with weed. 

And so, to the more enjoyable tasks of planting up containers and hanging baskets, sowing annuals and planting out summer bedding once the frosts have gone. Cascading begonia, dahlias and salvia bring great splashes of colour and bold statements in pots and borders. As you plant, keep an eye out for clumps of snowdrops and bluebells whose leaves have yellowed. They, along with irises, can be lifted, divided and re-planted. Only cut back bulb foliage when it has died down. 

To increase your plant stock, divide and plant perennials and directly sow hollyhock, delphiniums and lupins in drills when the seed heads ripen, and they naturally split open. Harvesting your own seeds is a very satisfying way of stocking your garden. Hardy annuals you direct sow will need thinning at intervals, leaving spaces of 20cm (8”) between taller varieties down to 10cm (4”) for smaller plants. Wallflowers, Bellis, pansies and other spring bedding for spring next year need to be sown between now and July.

Most of all, take some time to sit and enjoy your garden surroundings while you savour strawberries and cream and a glass of Prosecco.

• Plant out dahlias and cannas when frosts have passed
• Plant Anemone rhizomes after overnight soaking to flower in three months
• Cut back spring flowered perennials so they come again
• Trim spreading and trailing plants to encourage growth and new flowers
• Divide hostas as they come into growth
• Divide Primula and primroses after flowering    
• Stake tall perennials
• Tie in and train clematis and honeysuckle