June in the garden
Written by: Ashley Edwards
Plant out Summer tubers/bulbs
For a tropical summer display, try planting tubers like canna, begonia, hedychium, zantedeschia and gladioli. June is a good time to do this in most parts of the country as soil temperatures have risen and the last frost has passed. You could plant straight into a sunny, south-facing border in a well drained, moist border, incorporated with an organic compost. If you have a sunny patio or balcony you can plant these bulbs into pots and group them together for a colourful display. These plants will flower all the way up to the first frosts. Dead head and feed with organic compost or high potash liquid feed (organic tomato feed works well) to keep the displays looking their best.
Planting out Dahlias
If you’ve been sprouting dahlias indoors, now is a good time to plant them out into the garden. Choose a sunny site and prepare the ground by incorporating a good amount of organic compost and water if needed. Take out any perennial weeds that may outcompete the dahlias.
Before you plant out your dahlias, it’s wise to harden them off. This means placing them outdoors during the day and bringing them indoors overnight for a week or two, avoiding any cold nights.
When it comes to planting the potted dahlias, be careful to avoid disturbing the rootball. If your dahlias have grown leggy then you can plant your dahlia slightly deeper to stabilise it. Firm your plant in and water it well. Provide staking or growing frames as plants can get top heavy and snap in wind or rain.
Once planted you can water the plants in and mulch with an organic garden compost or composted bark to retain moisture and suppress weeds.
If you haven’t started your dahlias indoors, the tubers can go straight out into pots or borders. Again, choose a sunny location, dig a hole around 10-15cm deep and place the tubers with the eye buds facing upwards. Backfill the hole, covering the tuber but leaving any shoots just at the surface of the soil. Water your tubers sparingly until shoots begin to show, once they appear then step up your watering regime and keep watered during dry spells. Mulching will help to retain moisture and suppress weeds. Dahlia shoots are a delicacy for slugs and snails, so keep an eye and water in the mornings, picking off any you see in the evening. If growing dahlias in pots you can try copper tape or wool pellets.
Planting out Summer Bedding
As the risk of frost has passed you can create summer bedding containers. Summer bedding is a great way of introducing lots of colour into your space in a cost effective way. It’s also a relatively accessible way to garden in containers and great for balcony growing too.
When designing your container, choose a mixture of trailing plants around the edge of your container like bacopa, trailing fuchsia and lobelia alongside upright plants like geraniums, osteospermum and ornamental grasses.
Choose plants that suit your site. For a shady garden you can use ferns, heucheras or impatiens and focus on varying foliage texture to create a lush contemporary style. Give your plants plenty of room and a peat free compost which is moisture retaining. Feed weekly during the growing season with a high potash feed (organic tomato feed works well) and check regularly for watering. Hanging baskets are more prone to drying out and may need watering daily in the height of summer, try to use recycled or captured water where you can. Dead head your plants regularly and you’ll have a display right up to the first frosts. Some bedding plants can be perennial if kept in a sheltered position or unheated greenhouse.
Tie in climbing and rambling roses
Roses will put on lots of growth in June so it’s a great time to tie in stems to create the best flowering display. The aim of tying in is to create a neat framework that will produce plenty of lateral flowering shoots. Tying in also prevents branches from snapping under the weight of flowers or in summer rain storms (which are becoming increasingly common in the UK).
Firstly select the strongest new stems to tie in. If your climber is against a wall then tie stems in at 45 degree angle. For rambling roses, arch the stems as much as possible, they will flower on older wood. Tie in stems using soft twine and a figure of 8 loop to prevent damage to the stem from rubbing.
Whilst tying in new stems, prune out any dead, diseased or crossing branches. You want to keep the plant open with plenty of air flow to prevent a build up of aphids or blackspot. You can also take back any over vigorous shoots to encourage bushing out and any water shoots that can appear from below the graft point of the plant.
Continue tying in the stems over the summer and deadhead your rose frequently to encourage blooms all summer long. You can leave some spent flowers to develop into rose hips which are a great food source for birds and provide interest in the autumn months.
Staking tall Perennials
Your herbaceous borders will be romping away, so it’s important to tie in tall perennials such as Hollyhocks, Delphinium, Foxglove, Lupins and any other plants that may topple over in wind or rain. There’s nothing more tragic than finding the flower spike you've been waiting to develop for two years has snapped!
Bamboo canes work well as do hazel stems, you can also find ornamental metal supports that add a touch of flair to your garden. These are great as they can be left in the garden all year round and provide some sculptural interest.
Remember to use soft twine and tie in a figure of eight to prevent the stem being strangled and don't tie too tight, allow some wiggle room.
To prevent an injury, it's a good idea to add cane toppers to your supports and if cutting your supports down to level, avoid making a sharp pointy end.
