Second edition - June 2001.
This month I have looked in depth at barbecues, garden furniture, garden lighting and patio heaters.
Traditionally
the first week of June is the time for putting out the summer bedding plants, hanging
baskets and tubs, but it is still possible to get a late frost, so take care. If you
haven`t already started your runner beans in pots you can now sow them straight into the
garden, two seeds per cane about 2ins. (5cm) deep.
June
is the month to re-plant your garden if you`re planning to do so, but first check your
soil type with a testing kit available from any garden centre. Plan to plant about
half of the borders with evergreen shrubs for year round interest. I love architectural
evergreens such as Phormiums - which come in many colours and sizes, Castor Oil plants,
Palms, variegated Vibernum, Bamboos, Ceanothus and my all time favourite Eucalyptus
- of which I have many different types. The winter is so long and dull I think it`s a must
to have lots of colour in the garden. Take a peek in your neighbour`s garden and see
what grows well if you are stuck for ideas...
No one likes hard work and with careful planning you can create and maintain an
attractive low-labour garden.
Jobs for the month - June
For all it`s glories June makes it`s demands on the gardener, with
frequent lawn-mowing stints, weeding, watering and tending the vegetable garden. Don`t
forget the house plants which can be given a breath of fresh air and a misting with tepid
water...
Houseplants
By now you should have repotted any houseplants that needed it, and
checked that they are not going to get scorched in a sunny aspect. When you go on holiday
place your houseplants in a part of the house that remains cool all day if possible. There
are several types of capillary matting in the garden centres that you can stand the plants
on, or even soaked newspaper in a bucket.
Bulbs.
Overcrowded
or deteriorating bulbs can be lifted and put in boxes to dry off, and be re-planted in the
autumn.
Lawns
Mowing
can become a twice weekly job at this time of year. If you didn`t give your lawn a
spring "feed and weed" this is a good time of year for a summer application of
fertiliser.
 Greenhouse
Make
sure that any plants in the greenhouse have adequate ventilation and are shaded from too
much sun. Maintain humidity to avoid red spider mite by damping down with the hosepipe.
Hedges
If
you have a rose hedge this is the month to spray against black spot, mildew and aphids.
 Fruit
This
is the time of year to watch out for nasty little bugs in fruit bushes and trees.
Eliminate them with an appropriate spray. Still watch out for the birds on fruit bushes
and cover with netting if necessary
Flowers
for cutting
Continue
training sweet peas up their supports. Keep cutting flowers for the house and at the same
time dead-head any faded blooms to encourage new flowers.
Herbaceous
plants
Continue
to stake plants and feed them weekly. I use Miracle-Gro with the dispenser that attaches
to the hose pipe so everything in the garden gets fed...and watch out for aphids on your
plants. Keep the borders weed free and mulched
 Ponds
and water features
This
is still a good time to plant aquatics. New pools planted in May are now ready to stock
with fish. Don`t put in too many, the aquatic department should be able to tell you how
many fish your pond will comfortably take, allowing for growth. If you are going on
holiday get a neighbour to feed your fish but don`t do as we did, tell the neighbour
"one handful of fish food daily." I hadn`t noticed the size of his hands
and when we got back the pond was full of soggy fish food...........
Wildlife
Warm
June evenings bring out all those insects, and also the hedgehog who will feast on
them, so entice him out with a saucer of bread and milk. Look out for those Pipistrelle
bats that fly around at dusk whose young will be born this month, and watch out for any
young fledgling birds, but don`t try hand rearing any that have been abandoned, just put
them gently in the safety of a bush.
Next month I will be looking at greenhouses, summerhouses, ponds,
decking and of course jobs for the month...
Some web sites of interest to gardeners:
 www.edenproject.com
The
living theatre of plants and people
The Eden Project is a gateway into the world of plants and people. A meeting place for
all to discover how we depend on plants and how we can help to manage and conserve them
for our mutual survival
www.carryongardening.co.uk
Gardening
is an important part of many people's lives. You don't have to give up gardening because
of accident or illness, the onset of disability or the problems associated with growing
older. The information on their website is designed to provide you with the information to
Carry on Gardening.
Carry
on Gardening was initiated by the horticultural charity Thrive
and is funded by the National Lottery Charities
Board. It brings together information on easy ways of gardening gathered over 23
years by Thrive and research carried out since the early 1970s by Mary Marlborough Centre,
Oxford, on tools and equipment for disabled and older people.
And finally if you are visiting a National Trust garden or any other
garden or event, do check that they are not closed due to Foot and Mouth disease. For
general advice and up-to-date details of restrictions look up the website for the
appropriate local authority who will have information about closures. Alternatively look
at the following websites: www.nationaltrust.org.uk
and www.maff.gov.uk who will have
Foot and Mouth up-dates.
Have
a look at previous editions of
Gardener`s Diary
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