It’s June, summer us upon us, the garden is full of colour and fragrance and there are no jobs to be done only tasks to be enjoyed.
Let’s face it dead heading roses on a sunny evening is what gardening is all about, and you can probably stretch yourself a bit to pull the odd weed and stake tall perennials. This is where all the hard work earlier in the year will have paid off.
It’s not that there is nothing else to do its just that the long sunny days make it all that bit easier and with the risk of frost having passed you can plant tomato plants in their final positions, pinching out side shoots to encourage a better crop. You can also plant out summer bedding and hanging baskets, watering and feeding on a regular basis. Pots can be mulched with shingle or pebbles, as well as looking attractive it will help them retain moisture.
Pruning to be carried out includes Spring flowering shrubs such as Kerria, Lilac and Broom and early flowering perennials can be cut back to produce fresh new growth and maybe the odd flower. Whilst in and amongst the beds keep an eye out for pests and diseases treating as necessary. Some pests can be controlled with a spray of diluted washing up liquid or a good squirt from your hose. Others may require something of the chemical variety. Remember that healthy plants are better equipped to deal with pests and diseases so keep well fed, watered and pruned.
As ever keep on top of weeding in the vegetable garden and make fortnightly sowings of salad crops, thinning out earlier sowings as you go and carry on earthing up potatoes.
It may be the case that your patch of green is far from as inspiration that you float around with secateurs in one hand and a glass of wine in the other, snipping away without a care in the world. If you need ideas you could do a lot worse than visit an open garden, some villages hold their own others are open under the yellow book scheme. Either way you cannot fail to pick up ideas and there are worse ways to spend an afternoon, anyone for turning the compost?