Mzzz B's June Garden Blog

The weather has certainly been interesting over this past month in Tattenhall- with the driest May since 1986, and possibly one of the warmest, and we had the worst frost in May, with lots of early growth on trees and even lilies being affected! So drought, heat, frost and cold nights, followed by cold and wet, and yet the garden is looking remarkably good. The grass has recovered with its dousing of rain, but dry shady ,well drained areas are still the places that are looking a bit sad.

Bear in mind that tadpoles are turning into frogs and birds are feeding their young with caterpillars and aphids, so a lot of natural pest control is actively under way. There has been a lot of greenfly and other aphids around but squishing with your fingers, while waiting for the natural predators often does the job! Gardening isn't necessarily for more sensitive souls! The other pest to look out for is lily beetles, they are beautiful red beetles with black undersides, and have the jolly habit of the pupae covering themselves in their own excrement before they hatch out and devour your lilies! They also can be tricky as they turn upside down as you approach them and then cannot be seen. Put your hand under them to catch them before squishing!

There are lots of Jobs to in the garden this month this is just a few:

• Keep weeding to prevent them seeding
• Continue to remove the side shoots from cordon tomato plants
• Give broad bean plants support and check for signs of black-fly. Remove any growing tips where you find evidence of this pesky pes
• Grass cuttings can be spread thickly on veg beds after watering to act as a mulch, or add to compost heaps with cardboard or paper
• New potatoes will be ready for lifting. Dig just a few to eat at a time, as they are best cooked straight from the soil, and do not store well.
• Cut back yellowed foliage from spring bulbs but mark where they are so you don't dig them up by mistake
• Cut back early flowering perennials such as Pulmonaria or oriental poppies, they will then produce a second flush of leaves.
• Spring flowering shrubs can now be pruned, removing older stems now allows time for growth of new stems for next years flowers.
• Intercrop with salads in the gaps between slow growing brassicas.