I am not certain that we can describe the weather as settled, but at least there has been enough fair weather to get some planting done and the blend of wet and warm has had things growing. Certain items have actually romped, with much of my salad fit for purpose inside of the month. Indeed I shall be sowing the next succession this week. There was a magic to the arrival of greenery this time, an overnight rousing which saw new leaf filling hedgerows and the canopy of every tree weighing heavy with new growth.

June is a great month for playing catch up, we can feel safe about the weather and plant just about anything, confident that it will grow. I am not advocating the planting of new trees, but seasonal plants are in plentiful supply and will do the business. There are racks of bedding plants and vegetable plants to found in most garden centres and nurseries. Some of the tenderer vegetables that don’t stand the cold, can go straight out in the open. Tomatoes and cucumbers will survive and if they are set close to a warm wall can be very prolific. If the space is exposed then bush varieties will fit the bill and last year our bush tomatoes were very worthwhile.

Of course there are maintenance issues to consider this month, most notably given the buffeting winds, make sure that taller perennials are staked and tied. Delphiniums, Hollyhocks and even foxgloves are worth supporting. They are top heavy when they flower, and it can be soul destroying to see them broken down by the weather. It is also worth pruning early flowering shrubs to restore order and encourage new growth. Our Whitsuntide boss has been wonderful this spring, laden with bold snowball sized bunches  of flower and with the flowering done, it needs a haircut. Just cast an eye over the shrubs that have finished for the year and tidy them up. The other issue as we move forward is to be on the ball with both feeding and watering of seasonal plants and containers. The feeding is particularly important if you are to get the best from containers (including baskets). I tend to treat everything with Tomato food.

And finally. Give yourself permission to see how others do it. In recent weeks we have visited one or two open gardens and last weekend popped up to Spetchley Park on the edge of Worcester. It’s a joyous pastime.

Happy Gardening

Chris Evans
www.dundrynurseries.co.uk
www.thebutterflygarden.org