There is always so much to do in the garden during the month of June, Georgie shares more of her top tips.

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Poppies

We are in poppy heaven in the garden at the moment – poppies of all different varieties are flowering their socks off.  Whilst definitely worth it, It is sadly all however quite fleeting – so perhaps think about what you can plant over to continue the colour into the autumn. Cosmos and sunflowers would be a good fit so consider planting those nearby to take on the flowering baton.

Potting On

It’s a really good idea if you are still nurturing some seedlings for planting out a bit later on, to bump them on quickly into large modules so that they grow on well and don’t dry out so quickly. Keeping tiny seedlings going in 40 module trays is hard work as you water in the evening and they are bone dry again by midday the next day. So pot them on as soon as they have filled the cells with roots.

Box Hedging

The first trim of your box hedging or balls can be done this month once the risk of frost has passed. This will provide a welcome crispness against the voluminous planting but more than that, cutting in June will best avoid box caterpillar or blight that is unfortunately so rife.

Sweet Peas

Autumn sown sweet peas should be beginning to flower this month. As soon as they start flowering, give them a feed of tomato feed which will encourage more and more blooms. Tie the stems in carefully so that they continue to climb picking out any tendrils to avoid a birds nest! Keep picking and they will keep on coming.

Pots

Everything can be planted out now the summer nights are here!  But you might find you need to remove a few things first. I have tulips and narcissi in most of mine and these all now need to be removed and stored so that, firstly, fingers crossed, I can use them again next year and secondly I will have more space to plant other things! Dig up the bulbs carefully with the foliage in tact, clean up the bulbs a bit removing any brown scales/excess soil, cut the foliage off and put them into a net sack/wire rack and put them somewhere cool and dark. Come November they should be ready to plant up again. Some will come back, some won’t, but it’s worth a try!

 

Then potting up the pots with other things is best done in the evening.  Plant in peat free compost, ensuring good drainage at the bottom – and mix in some chicken manure pellets at the outset to sustain the plants over the next few weeks. There are so many things to put in pots – I have done mixes of dahlias/salvias with various annuals sown from seed and I am so looking forward to seeing them bloom! Water well so that the water runs right through every two/three days in hot weather.

 

 

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