There's plenty to keep you busy in the garden as spring turns into summer, and even if you're only just putting the gardening gloves on, it's not too late to give your outdoor space some attention. So, without further ado, let's take a look at what you can do in your garden in June.
Sow Late Blooming Flowers
Many people assume that they need to buy plants in order to get flowers this late in the season, but there are lots of flower seeds you can sow in June that will bloom in late summer. For example, nasturtiums are quick to flower and can be sown into containers or directly into the ground, along with calendula and nigella for soft blue blooms that will look lovely in your borders.
You can also sow sunflowers now for late summer and early autumn blooming. If you've got children or grandchildren, this is a great activity to get them interested in gardening.
Outdoor Planting
Alongside seeds, there's also lots to plant in borders and containers in June. If you've got any gaps in your displays, now is an excellent time to fill them with annuals to give you instant colour and coverage. If you're planting into containers, mix in some perennials so the container isn't completely bare when the annuals die back. Now is also a great time to plant patio shrubs and introduce leafy foliage to gaps in your beds for lush colour and texture.
Vegetables and Fruit
Don't panic if you've left your vegetable sowing too late, as you can often pick up pre-grown small vegetable plants to give you a head start. You should be able to find trays of tomatoes, carrots, courgettes and peppers that can be planted directly into the ground. Please contact us for our vegetable plant availability instore.
If you're looking to sow vegetable seeds, there are still plenty of choices. French beans can be sown now for an autumn harvest, usually taking 12-16 weeks to reach maturity. Beetroot seeds can be sown continuously until July for a constant harvest through to October.
Swiss Chard seeds can be sown thinly now and will germinate within 7-14 days. There are some exciting and vibrant new varieties, like the two-tone Chard Peppermint. For leafy summer and winter salads, sow lettuce seeds in a sunny position now. You've also got plenty of time to sow Pak Choi for a healthy autumn crop.
For winter crops of kale, plant now for a hearty supply in the leaner months, either from seed or small plant. If you're growing from seed, you'll want to start your kale in trays and remove any flowers to encourage good leaf growth. All the vegetable seeds we've talked about today can be purchased from our online garden centre in their respective sowing seasons.
If you've got an apple tree, it's a good idea to thin out areas that look overcrowded using an apple picker. This will help the fruit remaining on the tree to grow larger, and the branches will be less likely to bow and break under the weight of the fruit.
Remove any unwanted shoots and suckers from raspberry canes to prevent them from becoming too thick. Dense canes can block sunlight and air, leading to underdeveloped fruit and disease.
Now is also a good time to buy plant food for your fruit, vegetables and flowers to keep them healthy, looking their best and encourage a good yield.
June Garden Maintenance
Keep on top of weeding in June – a little bit and often will be far less overwhelming than attempting to tack it all in one go. If you've got compost to hand, mulch the ground to suppress weed growth and keep the soil moist. Show your lawn, paths, and gravelled beds some love by weeding, either by hand or with weed killer. If weeds are a persistent problem for you, it might be a good idea to invest in some weed membrane to keep invasive plants at bay, particularly in gravelled areas or under bark chippings. Also, give any woodwork like fences and decking a power wash to remove any algae that has built up over the winter.
If the weather is dry for prolonged periods and you notice the soil drying out, give everything a good soak once a week. Rainwater collected in a water butt comes in very handy here, particularly during prolonged dry spells that result in water shortages.
In addition, keep your eye out for garden pests that want to make a meal of your crops. Wet weather will bring out slugs and snails who will be happy to eat newly planted seedlings. Netting over your vegetable patch will protect it from birds like pigeons, and pesticides will keep your newly grown crops safe from being eaten. You can find this and everything else you need in our garden supplies shop.
As you can see, there's really quite a lot to keep you busy in your garden in June! So whatever you're doing in the garden this summer, Beetham Nurseries can help. You can buy plant seeds online from our website or pay us a visit at our garden centre in Milnthorpe for all your gardening needs.
