In June we have the longest days of the year in the UK, which means more sun and more growing time for your garden plants. You can achieve a beautiful abundant outdoors in June if properly managed and planned. Be wary, the extra hours of light will also be helping weeds, so it’s important to keep on top of things to enjoy the best of what June has to offer your garden.
General
- Water your lawn
- An inch of water a week on your grass will be enough to keep it from going brown. Deep watering once a week is much better than regular watering every day.
- Control weeds
- Use a handheld fork to remove individual weeds from the root.
- Plant summer beds
- Get your summer bedding plants into the soil so they can take advantage of the extra hours of light.
- Check and water
- Check the soil around your plants regularly, digging your finger into the soil to see if there is moisture underneath. Water accordingly when the soil appears too dry.
Plants
- Protect from pests
- Most aphids can be dealt with using a spray bottle filled with a simple solution of water and a little washing-up liquid. This will deal with greenfly and aphids without damaging your plants.
- Plant out summer bedding
- Fill your flower beds and borders for a colourful display. Discover our selection of summer bedding plants.
- Grow sunflowers
- Now is a great time to grow sunflowers from seed; a fun project for getting the kids involved with the outdoors.
- Sow Nigella seeds
- Also known as love-in-a-mist, these unusual looking flowers can fill an area of your garden with charming blue whilst providing pollen for bees and butterflies.
- Sow Nasturtium seeds
- These colourful plants are fast-growing and will quickly fill any gaps you have in your bedding. They can also be trained up trellises and arbours to provide interest at different heights.
Animals
- Top up birdbaths
- Keep your birdbath topped up to provide a place to drink, wash and cool down. For birds, not your family
- Top up bird tables
- This time of year most birds will be collecting bugs for their young (a bonus for pest control), but bird tables and feeders are still needed for a quick energy top-up for hard-working bird parents.
- Avoid trimming hedges
- Be careful when trimming hedges as birds can be nesting inside.
- Allow some weeds to flourish
- Letting a small part of your lawn to grow wild will be incredibly beneficial for all sorts of wildlife. It can provide a habitat for insects which in turn will support the growth of birds. Just be sure to mark it separate from the rest of your garden to keep it in check!
What June gardening jobs have you been up to this month? Let us know on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram!
Scott Roberts was a copywriter making content for the Primrose site and blog. Nowadays he’s either looking at photos of dogs or worrying about the environment. He does nothing else, just those two things.