June’s Gardening Jobs

Allium ‘Purple Sensation’

A chilly and dry start to June wasn’t really what I was hoping for, if I’m honest. A large amount of my own garden having been planted within the last year, could really do with some rain to help the new planting settle in. It appears even I have underestimated just how dry it’s been in the last month, considering the state of a (previously) beautiful Hydrangea Macrophylla whose foliage has reddened showing its distress at the dry ground it’s living in. Luckily for me (and said hydrangea) that foliage colour has given me the heads up just in time to bring it back around – phew. Within my garden I have such a mixture of planting as I feel it’s important for me to have hands on experience with a wide range of plants. When specifying my planting schemes, I mainly focus on drought tolerant hardy plants as we really aren’t able to rely on stable weather conditions and as the ‘right plant, right place’ parameters continue to change, we must continue to change with them. That being said, it’s advisable for even the most hardy of plants, to keep them watered for the first couple of years after planting, until they’ve had a real chance to develop their root systems enough to sustain themselves, which is what I’m currently doing with my own. This seamlessly leads me into your first (and possibly most important) gardening job for this month…

Watering your pots

It’s always important to water your plants in pots as they rely almost solely on you. In-ground planting benefits from a rainy day exponentially more than your pots do so even when we get some rain (please!!) you’ve still got watering duties to complete. Give your pots a good, long water – if you continue to water until you see the water come out from the bottom of your pot through the drainage hole, you know you’ve done a good job. I much prefer one deep watering a week rather than numerous shallow sprinkles as you’ll often find only the top of the soil is moist and the rest of the roots are left dry. Give them a nice natural feed every now and again, too, to get the best of them.

Water for wildlife

Wildlife has a tough time out there at the best of times, don’t they? Providing accessible water in your garden could literally be a life saver for a small (or large) critter visiting your outdoor space. We don’t all have the space or desire for a wildlife pond (I would love one but my cats would enjoy the visiting frogs a little TOO much) so leaving out a small tray or dish will more than suffice. Using a dish large enough so it doesn’t dry out too quickly, putting rocks or stones in to both weigh the dish down so it doesn’t tip over easily as well as to create differing depths in the water is great. This will make the water accessible for foxes, for hedgehogs and all the way down to bumblebees and insects due to the differing water depths. If you can also keep it topped up that’ll ensure someone doesn’t expend energy coming to visit your watering hole without being able to quench their thirst.

Raise mower blades in dry weather

Your grass may well be starting to look a little worse for wear in the dry weather. By raising your mower blades when cutting your grass, you’re able to keep your lawn looking tidy whilst also encouraging it to stay green.

Plant out annuals

Spring sown annuals should be safe to be planted out this month. To provide real impact in a border, it’s a good idea to plant out your plants in a block of 3, 5, 7 or even more depending on the plant in question. Cosmos are always a winner and make quite a bushy plant so it’s best to plant them around 30cm apart and water in well (and keep watered as required). By pinching out the tip of your cosmos they should provide you with a mass of blooms and feathery foliage well into the autumn.

Alchemilla Mollis

Tie in climbing rose shoots

Your climbing roses are likely putting on a lot of new growth at the moment so it’s a good idea to get those new shoots tied in. Make sure you use a soft twine of some form as wire or hard string can cut into the delicate shoots and cause damage, leaving your plant susceptible to disease.

Dead head spent flowers

There are many plants that benefit from deadheading. The process of taking off spent flowers is to stop your plant from putting energy into creating seed heads. Deadheading regularly will enable your plants to put their energy into creating more flowers and lengthen their flowering time.