Jobs for June Gardens – Take time to enjoy!
This is the month when all your hard work really starts to show so gardening jobs for June must include enjoying your hard work. Most gardens reach their peak this month – borders look perfect and summer fruit and vegetables are flourishing. Ornamental borders will soon be at their best with scented roses now flowering in earnest. There is plenty to do in the garden to keep you occupied, but it’s a time of year to sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labours. So above all, take time to reward yourself this month. There’s nothing better than sitting quietly in the garden in the evening enjoying the sights, sounds and fragrance of your own private space.
Gardening Jobs for June – Water Water Water!
Establishing that pristine, green stripy lawn is going to be a challenge this year after the exceptionally dry spring we’ve had. During dry weather there is no need to water established lawns unless absolutely necessary. Yes, lawns will turn brown in hot weather but it’s not worth wasting water on them as the grass will soon recover after a good downpour. If you must water, really soak the turf once a week, rather than a sprinkling every day. New lawns, however are the exception, it is vitally important that they don’t dry out, until they have be-come established (normally after about two weeks.)
Established plants and trees in general do not require watering. It is best to let plants reach for their own water, excess watering can lead to the formation of shallow roots and thereby creates a plant that is vulnerable to drought and wind. However, given the dry start to the year, newly planted shrubs and trees will require irrigation of some sort. The first sign that a plant is suffering from drought is the leaves wilt, they nearly always turn yellow and sometimes become brown at the ends and the leaves drop off. It’s much better to give a newly planted tree or shrub a good soaking two or three times a week rather than a little sprinkling every day. So, if you have just planted a new garden, water in the evening or early morning before the heat of the sun evaporates the water. If you do have to water in the middle of the day, try not to let the water fall on the leaves as this can scorch the plants, get to the bottom of the plant with your hose pipe or watering can. All plants in containers rely on someone to water them or they will die, even if we have a bit of rain, plants in containers need a lot of water. The smaller the container, the more watering it will require. Adding water retentive gel when planting containers helps. If you don’t have enough time to water yourself, invest in an irrigation system. There are lots available on the market. This is a good article which clearly explains what the differences are…it can be a little confusing!
If you can, use a mulch to preserve water. Mulches are ‘coverings’ placed on the surface of cultivated soil. They can be applied to bare soil or to cover the surface of compost in containers. Over the years I’ve tried all sorts of materials as a mulch and have found the best one to be well rotted bark, that’s the very fine sort, not the thicker pieces of bark used in car parks. This breaks down gradually to release nutrients into the soil and help improve its structure. It will need replacing when it has fully rotted down and the key is to apply a good thick layer. An 80L bag will cover an area of about 1 metre.
There are many benefits of mulching including:
- Helping the soil to retain moisture in summer
- Suppressing weeds
- Improving the soil texture
- Deterring some pests
- Protecting plant roots from extreme temperatures
- Encouraging beneficial soil organisms
- Giving a decorative finish
More Gardening to do in June
If your garden has bare patches, one way to liven it up is to use containers with summer bedding to provide instant, if temporary, colour. Alternatively, make new flower beds and plant them up with colourful perennial plants to flower every year. Garden centres have lots of choice available at the moment to bring life and colour into your garden.
Hoe or hand-pull annual weeds while they are still small. Choose a dry day and leave the leaves on the surface to wither. Perennial weeds (things like dandelions and ground elder) are trickier to deal with. They have to be dug out effectively removing completely, if any trace is left in the soil, be warned, they return!
Deadheading is one of the regular gardening jobs in June in all parts of the garden as some flowers ‘go over.’ With many plants the flowering period can be extended if old flowers are removed as soon as they fade. This is particularly important with Roses. It will prevent the plant’s energy going into seed production and channel it into new growth and flowers later in the season. Most deadheading can be done with secateurs, cutting back to just above strong buds lower down the stem. Some plants like hardy geraniums can be chopped right back with garden shears. This may seem a bit drastic, especially at first they will look very bare, but later on in the season they will reward you with a flush of new flowers.
Most shrubs in the garden are producing plenty of fresh, young shoots now and these are perfect for making softwood cuttings. Take a few shoots from the side of the shrub, where it won’t show, and take more than you think you will need because they probably won’t all take. Cut shoots about 10 cm long from the plant just above a bud or leaf and remove the lower half leaves. Put the cut ends of the cuttings into a pot of 50:50 mix of peat free compost and vermiculite and place in a shady area. Make sure they stay moist and in 6-8 weeks’ time most should have rooted and can be grown on as new plants for free.
If you live in the Gloucestershire area and need some help with your gardening jobs in June, we’d be pleased to help. Contact us here or call us on 01993 813721. We also offer garden rooms, garden kitchens, and garden clearance services.