Mzzz B's June Garden Blog

June is always a good time in the garden- with the rain and warmth everything is very lush! The garden is full of insects, bees everywhere, and this hover fly which I discovered is a Pellucid fly which eats the larvae of wasps and bumble bees! Not sure how good it is to see that!
This is such a busy time of year- early flowering plants have gone over -like forgetmenots and aquilegia, they now need cutting back-making space for annuals to flower until the first frosts. I have grown from seed -cosmos, marigolds, Tithonia -Mexican sunflower, and Tagetes Cinnabar – a tall single variety of french marigold. They will all be planted over the next week or so where there is space.
But the weeds have grown well this year- speedwell, bindweed, and cleavers/goose grass seem to have made a bid to take over areas of the garden despite trying to keep on top of them.

Jobs to do in the garden in June: – its a busy month!

• Weed-to prevent seeding.
• Cut back early flowering shrubs to maintain them in their space.
• Dead head roses and other flowers to promote further flowering.
• If you don't want masses of alliums dead head.
• Plant out tender annuals and vegetables.
• Continue sowing successional vegetables like peas and beans and quick crops like lettuce.
• Tie up perennials to prevent them smothering neighbouring plants.
• Lift and store tulip bulbs after flowering
• Give Wisteria its summer prune, cutting all the long side shoots back to 20cm to promote flowering next spring.
• Continue planting summer bedding in pots and borders, and water regularly to help plants establish quickly
• Cut back spring-flowering perennials, such as pulmonaria, to encourage a fresh flush of foliage
• Tie in new stems of climbing and rambling roses horizontally to encourage more flowers.
• Take cuttings from pinks and carnations selecting non flowering shoots which should root readily.
• Pinch out the tips of fuchsias and bedding plants to encourage bushier growth
• Give container displays and hanging baskets a liquid feed every few weeks to encourage flowering
• Fill any gaps in borders with pots of tall bulbs, such as fragrant lilies, to add instant colour
• Prune late-spring or early-summer shrubs after flowering, such as weigela and philadelphus, thinning out the old growth.
• Add marginal plants such as arum. Lilies and marsh marigolds around the edges of ponds
• Sow biennials like foxgloves, wallflowers, sweet rocket for next year.
• In the veg garden continuing sowing for succession
• Apply tomato feed regularly to fruiting veg crops, including tomatoes, courgettes, pumpkins and chillies
• Take softwood cuttings from herbed such as marjoram and sage. Also soft wood cuttings of hydran
• Rejuvenate chives by cutting the clump down to the base.