What garden jobs should I do in June?

Prune

Any shrubs that have already flowered in spring or early summer like forsythia, weigela and philadelphus, thinning out any older dead wood as you go. Give wisteria a summer prune cutting all the long side shoots back to 20cm to promote flowering next spring.

Do the Chelsea chop on anything that might later grow too large and flop over like nepeta, salvia, verbena or sedum. You don’t have to cut the whole plant, just reduce some of the stems by a third to half to delay flowering and height.

Pinch out side shoots on tomatoes so that their energy is focussed on the main stem and fruit production.

Sow

Repeat sow salad leaves every couple of weeks for a continuous crop. You can also direct sow French and runner beans, peas, squash, sweetcorn, and outdoor cucumbers into the ground.

Plant

If you are a fan of tender exotics, such as bananas or cannas now is the time to plant them out as the risk of frost should be past.

You can also plant out marginals around pond edges of a pond to give emerging wildlife some cover through the summer. Now is the time to plant out summer bedding in pots and borders but you will need to water regularly to help them establish.

Support

Tie in the new stems and shoots of climbing plants. With roses if you tie the shoots in so that they are horizontal it will encourage more flowers on each stem.

Tall perennials such as hollyhocks, foxgloves, delphiniums and lupins can be prone to falling over particularly in sudden stormy rain and wind. So, tying them in to a sturdy cane or other support can be a good idea to protect them from damage.

Protect

Young seedlings can fall victim to being attacked by birds, slugs and snails. Protect them by keeping them covered if you can. Slugs and snails are particularly bad this years and certainly seem to be eating everything in sight in my garden. Wait for evening and go on a torch lit slug hunt carefully removing them from plants and disposing of them. Mulching around plants is a really good way to protect them from slug damage, most hate it and wont cross over it. Don’t use slug pellets as these poisoned slugs can be eaten by hedgehogs who will have an awful painful death as a result. In fact, encouraging hedgehogs into your garden is a way to reduce the slug population.

Feed

Start feeding hanging baskets and containers every few weeks to encourage flowering. The more plants they contain the faster the nutrients will run out so they will need watering a feeding regularly. Try to make sure that you water first thing in the morning so that plants can then use the water during the day when they need it. Aim any water where the stem meets the soil and avoid the leaves. Better to water with a good soaking a couple of times a week than a little bit every day, as you want the plants to send their roots chasing the water deep into the soil. Take stock of any pots and planters you have. If they are less than 50cm across they will dry out quickly and be difficult to sustain. Group smaller pots together to protect each other and make watering easier.

Enjoy

Now is a good time to sit out at dusk and see what wildlife might be around. Bats tend to come out at this time to feed on insects so it is a good time to spot them in the twilight.