JUNE

Lawncare

• Mow the lawn weekly and remember to add the clippings to your compost heap.
• Continue to apply liquid high nitrogen fertiliser to keep the lawn looking healthy if not done last month.
• Disperse dry worm casts with hard bristled broom.
• During dry periods cut the lawn a little longer and invest in a mulching mower to help the lawn retain moisture.
• Apply a selective weed-killer to lawns, which kill weeds but not the lawn, remember to check bulbs have died down and it may kill wild flowers.
• Move garden furniture and objects round the lawn regularly to prevent yellow patches.

Houseplant Care

• Increase the watering and begin liquid feeding.
• Re-pot houseplants which show signs of being root-bound and give plants more space as they grow to prevent pest and disease..
• Make sure the area is well ventilated.
• Move plants like citrus and cymbidiums outside on warm days and bring in if a chilly night is forecast.
• Apply shade paint to the outside of the glass or use blinds on sunny days to prevent temperatures soaring.

Jobs To Do In The Garden

• Plant out summer bedding.
• Inspect lilies for scarlet lily beetles.
• Stake and tie tall or floppy plants.
• Prune overcrowded dead or diseased stems from clematis montana once finished flowering.
• Mulch around shrubs, roses and trees to help prevent moisture loss and to suppress weeds.
• Pinch out leading shoots on chrysanthemums, helianthus to encourage bushy plants.
• Prune spring flowers shrubs once they have finished flowering (forsythia, spiraea, berberis and ribes)
• Sweet peas can be trained onto their support to create a good display.
• Fill gaps in borders with annuals.
• Take cuttings of pinks (dianthus).
• Dead-head pansies, violas and primulas.
• Position summer baskets and containers outside.
• Trim back dead bulb foliage if not already done.
• Make sure tubs, hanging baskets and troughs are well watered. Use collected rainwater, or recycled grey water whenever possible.
• Hoe borders to prevent annual and perennial weeds from establishing in the border.
• Check for first signs of blackspot, aphid and rolling sawfly on roses.

Jobs To Do The Greenhouse

• Keep the temperature in the greenhouse at 5°C for fuchsia and geraniums and a warmer 12°C for topical plants.
• Remember to ventilate greenhouse on sunny days and on the warmest days you may need to damp the flooring down to increase the humidity.
• Check seedlings for damping off, which can be a problem under glass (if it becomes a problem treat with Cheshunt Compound).
• Give plants more space as they grow to help avoid pest infestations.
• Soft tip Fuchsia cuttings can be taken this month.
• Check for vine weevil larvae in containers. Treat with a suitable pest killer if present.
• Harden off half-hardy annuals, which have been started undercover and need acclimatising to the outside environment over a period of a week or so ready for planting in their final position.
• Use shade paint on the outside of greenhouses or use blinds to stop temperatures soaring
• Check plants regularly for water.
• Regularly inspect plants for pest and disease.

The Vegetable Garden

• Continue to sow beetroot, pak choi and radish.
• Sow broad beans, runner beans, peas, sweetcorn and outdoor cucumber direct into prepared beds.
• Plant out tomatoes – remember to remove side shoots.
• Change to high potash feed for container grown fruit.
• Continue to earth up potatoes.
• Water tomatoes and peppers regularly to avoid blossom end rot.
• Thin out pears, plums, peaches, nectarines, apricot and apples at the end of the month.
• Protect brassicas from pigeons with netting or make a scare-crow!
• Summer prune red currants, white currants and gooseberries.
• Protect carrots with enviro-mesh to stop damage from carrot root fly
• Make sure bees have access to flowers in cloches and cages for pollination.
• Avoid using pesticides when crops are in flower.
• Continue to harvest indoor cucumbers, potatoes and other early veg, strawberries, gooseberries, red and white currants.
• Protect flowers from possible late frosts.
• Keep on top of weed control to help stop the spread of pest and disease.
• Thin raspberry, gooseberries plants and de-blossom strawberry runners planted in spring.
• Pinch out top of broad beans once the lowest flowers have set to help prevent aphid attack.

Wildlife & Bird Care

• Put up nesting boxes for migrant birds arriving in the UK.
• Put up bat nesting boxes.
• Keep birdbaths topped up with water.
• Mow recently established perennial meadows but not annual cornfield meadows.
• Put out log and/ or rock piles to create areas of shelter for wildlife
• Avoid chunky foods that could choke young fledglings.
• Use wildlife friendly slug pellets if chemical control is needed.
• Trim hedges less frequently to encourage wildlife to shelter and feed.
• Make sure your pond is more wildlife friendly (by plant round the pond and creating a shallow edge so wildlife can access the pond safely).
• Mow spring flowering bulbs once foliage has died down.

Any Other Advice

• Collect grey water for watering containers and baskets.
• Check tree ties and loosen if necessary.
• Sprinkle fertiliser around trees, shrubs, roses and perennials.
• In dry spell treat timber structures and buildings (remembering to use in a well ventilated space and use an appropriate product).

Enjoy your garden and don’t forget to take time and stop and stare at the wonder of nature. Happy gardening!