Summer is on the doorstep, and your garden should be bursting into life. Many of last month’s tasks carry over into June – think regular watering, feeding, and weeding – but there are also some fresh jobs to help your plants, fruit and veg thrive in the warmer weather. Here’s what to focus on this month.
Not sure what something means? Our Garden Glossary blog is here to help – it’s full of useful terms to give you a helping hand in the garden.
Flower & Shrub Care
- Prune spring shrubs – Once flowering finishes, tidy up shrubs like forsythia and spirea to encourage healthy new growth.
- Lightly trim hedges – Evergreen hedges like box and privet will benefit from a gentle trim to neaten up their shape.
- Continue supporting tall plants – Keep an eye on tall perennials like lupins and sweet peas – tie them in as they grow to stop them flopping.
- Support your Dahlias – Put stakes in to support tall, large-flowered dahlias and tie in stems as they grow.
- Keep deadheading for more blooms – Roses, delphiniums, foxgloves and bedding plants will keep flowering if you remove fading flowers regularly.
- Take summer cuttings: Try herbs (rosemary, lavender, sage) and shrubby perennials like hydrangea or geraniums — root them in gritty compost.
- Tie in new Wisteria growth – There will be lots of long, whippy shoots in early summer. Tie these in to their support structure to train the plant where you want it to grow. The main prune is in late summer (August) and mid-winter (January/February), you can give it a light tidy now – avoid heavy pruning now as it may reduce next year’s flowers.
Fruit & Vegetable Gardening
- Plant out tender veg – Courgettes, tomatoes, beans and cucumbers can go into their final positions now it’s reliably warm.
- Tomatoes: Start feeding once the first flowers appear, then feed weekly with a high-potash fertiliser to support fruit development.
- Strawberries: To boost your crop, apply a high-potash feed just before flowering and again as the fruit begins to swell.
- Water both regularly in dry spells.
- Mulch around fruit trees – Just as in May, a good mulch helps retain moisture and reduce weeds around trees and soft fruit bushes.
- Pinch out tomato side shoots – Especially on cordon varieties, to help the plant focus energy on fruiting.
- Net soft fruit – Keep birds off your ripening berries with netting before they spot them!
- Sow fast growers – Continue sowing beetroot, carrots, lettuce and French beans for successional harvests into summer.
General Garden Maintenance
- Keep on top of weeding – Weeds will really pick up speed now. A quick hoe every few days is better than a big dig later on.
- Fill and feed containers – Refresh tired pots with new bedding plants and keep them fed and watered – they dry out fast in warm weather.
- Water regularly – Continue to water early or late in the day, especially for new plants, pots and baskets. A good soak a few times a week is better than a little every day.
- Install a waterbutt – Conserve rainwater for use in the garden.
- Clean and check tools – Mid-season is a great time to clean, sharpen or oil garden tools and check for any repairs needed.
Lawn Care
- Start mowing again – If you let the lawn grow wild for No Mow May, you can begin cutting again now. Start with a higher blade setting (so you do not stress the grass) and reduce gradually. keep a small section longer if you can for insects and wildlife.
- Continue regular mowing – For regularly cut areas, keep to a weekly schedule. Feed if you haven’t already this season.
- Water if needed – Lawns can dry out quickly in hot spells – a deep soak once a week is ideal.
- Edge and tidy borders – A sharp edge between lawn and beds keeps things looking crisp.
Pest & Disease Control
- Snail and slug patrol: Hunt on damp evenings to reduce damage to new shoots.
- Aphids – Watch out for infestations and treat with a soapy water mix in a spray bottle.
For more tips and all your gardening needs, visit us at Haddenham Garden Centre.