Gardening Jobs for June

As we move into the early summer months, it's essential to give your garden the care and attention it needs to thrive. Here are some helpful tips on harvesting, lawn care, new plantings, wildlife considerations, pruning, managing climbing plants, greenhouse maintenance, herbaceous plant support, bulb care, and weed control.

Harvesting

Salads such as lettuce, salad onions, and broad bean (pods) will be maturing now, and early potatoes should be ready towards the end of the month. Also, consider repeat sowings to keep a continuity of crops coming.

Lawn Care

Try to mow your lawn once each week (weather permitting). If the grass gets too long, reduce the height of the grass in stages and never remove more than one-third of the length in any one cut to avoid stressing the lawn grasses.

New Plantings

Keep newly planted plants well watered until they have established. Mulch around plants wherever possible; this will help to reduce moisture loss and plant stress. This is particularly important to prepare the plants for the usually dry months of July and August.

Wildlife Considerations

Many birds will still be nesting or raising young, so avoid trimming hedges, trees, and shrubs where nests are present. The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 protects bird nests, so it is an offense to damage or destroy them.

Pruning Plants

Early flowering shrubs can be pruned as soon as they have finished flowering to promote new growth for next year’s flowers. Cut back herbaceous perennials as they finish flowering and start to spread.

Climbing Plants

Keep tying in young shoots of climbers and wall shrubs to train these new growths. Early flowering Clematis can be pruned as soon as the flowers have finished.

Greenhouse

Provide plenty of ventilation on warm sunny days, apply a layer of shading to reduce leaf scorch and avoid stressing the plants. Feed tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers weekly and make sure cucumbers are kept in a humid atmosphere.

Herbaceous Plants

Support herbaceous perennials before they become too tall; this will help to prevent them from being flattened by any heavy showers. Cut back any early flowering herbaceous perennials as they finish flowering and start to spread.

Bulb Care

Many spring-flowering bulbs can be dug up and ‘heeled-in’ to allow them to die down and dry off or moved to new positions for replanting.

Weed Control

Hoe borders regularly to control weed seedlings. Where perennial weeds emerge, treat them with a weedkiller to eliminate them. Clean decks and patios before they get too busy.