Looking After Your Lawns And More
The sounds and scents of June garden gladden our hearts as we leave one of the coldest and wettest Mays behind us.
The grass is green, the sun is out, and bountiful borders are brimming with an explosion of vivid perennial plants.
These hardworking border plants are the stars of June. Foxgloves (Digitalis) are my favourites for this month. They add height and interest and grow pretty much in any condition. And once you’ve got them, you will have a free supply of plants for years to come. Their ability to self-seed is second to none.
Foxgloves and many others of June’s star plants will look fabulous against perfectly cut yew and box hedges. Now is the best time to make a start with their clipping. Well- shaped evergreens will add architectural focal points to the garden and act as backdrops to the many dazzlingly colourful perennials.
Look after your lawns. Now that No-Mow May has ended, it’s time to bring out those lawnmowers again. Grass has grown with the recent rainfall we have had.
Try not to cut away no more than 1/3rd of the height of the grass initially (very short grass will struggle to grow and weeds will soon invade). Then after 3-4 days cut off another 1/3rd. Next cut after this will be at your normal mowing height. A dose of lawn fertiliser with added conditioner and moss killer is also a good idea. Don’t forget to water it in unless it rains straight afterwards.
JOBS FOR JUNE:
- Move tender plants outdoors.
Planted baskets and pots can now be left outside for good.
“However nice your containers, plants in them are the real stars of the show”. So, look after them, do not let the pots and baskets dry out. Feed and deadhead continuously. Create colourful displays combining bedding and perennial plants.
- Prune early flowering shrubs (Ribes, Forsythia, Spiraea) to allow new growth to develop and mature in order to flower next year.
- Feed and deadhead Roses, keep aphids in check and look out for signs of blackspot.
- Sow biennials like Sweet William, Wallflower, Icelandic Poppy and Digitalis.
- Continue to earth up potato plants. Draw some soil over the top of the shoots.
- Keep greenhouse ventilated.
Pinch out side shoots from tomato plants, start feeding when the first truss has set fruit.
- Protect fruit from birds.
Start pruning stone fruit and feed fruit trees and bushes with high potash fertiliser.
- Wisteria will benefit from a top dressing of rose fertiliser now as they are a little behind with their flowering this year.
- Keep gardening with wildlife in mind.
Create Hedgehog Highways (easy access between neighbouring gardens), leave a wild area in the corner of your garden with nettles and tall grasses and cut hedges later in the summer. And of course, grow lots of pollen-rich flowers to encourage pollinators.
TOP 10 PLANTS FOR JUNE:
Rose Wisteria Philadelphus (Mock Orange)
Peony Lupin Shuttlecock Fern (Matteuccia)
Allium Hosta
Foxglove Clematis
JUNE OFFERS:
Tomorite Tomato Food 1l +30% extra free
£4.99 each or 2 for £9
Doff Liquid Feeds 1l
£3.99 each or 2 for £6
Westland compost Mix and Match
£6.99 each or 2 for £12
Ericaceous 60l, Rose Planting mix 60l, New Horizon All Plant compost 50l, Jack’s Magic Multi-Purpose compost 50l, Multi- Purpose compost with added John Innes 50l