Get Your Garden Ready for Summer – 10-Tips for your Garden this month

by Ken C | Last Updated: 20/05/2021

June is the month when many people start to think about maintaining their garden.

Summer is just around the corner, and if you want a beautiful garden, now’s the time to get working on it.

Although most of your planting should have been done my now, you can still plant a range of vegetables in June, and if your garden is new, now is a good time to plant shrubs and trees.

Whatever you’re planting, it’s important that you prepare the soil to create the best conditions for your new additions to thrive by adding organic matter and compost and soaking the area well prior to planting.

On to my tips. In this article, I will go over some of my favourite gardening tips for homeowners who want to maintain a garden.

Read on to find out more!

What should you be doing in you garden in June?

As the weather begins to heat up, and we head towards the longest day, you might wonder what you should be doing in the garden this month.

Here are some top tips to help you maintain your garden and make it look its best for summer:

Keep the garden free of weeds

If your garden is established, it’s important that you keep up with the maintenance during summer months as different weeds can grow quickly and affect your plants.

When you notice a weed that pops up in an area you’ve weeded before, get rid of it before it goes to seed.

Spot-weed by hand (make sure you wear gloves) or use a chemical spray to kill them; you should remove the roots that are there before they grow into new plants.

Inspect your garden every day for new weeds popping up and remove them as soon as possible.

Give your vegetable plants some love

Get into the vegetable garden and pinch off side shoots from tomatoes and other vegetable plants, but ,ake sure that you never disturb the roots when pinching off unwanted shoots.

Watch out for weeds too, and get rid of them before they spread to your vegetable plants.

Remember to water and feed well because it’s important at this time of year if we want our vegetables to grow nice and healthy!

Make your water go further, especially in drought-affected areas

Hopefully, you’ve been collecting rain water throughout the winter months as it’s the best way to water your garden.

Mulching around plants and fruit trees helps make the water go further by retaining moisture in the soil, and saving you having to lug water around the garden to keep plants watered.

Start harvesting salad crops

Harvest lettuce, radish, other salads and early potatoes. When you harvest lettuce from the garden in June, do not remove the root because many varieties will come back – these are often called ‘cut and come again’.

Consider using hanging baskets

One of the best ways to maintain a nice garden in summer is by hanging baskets and containers outside, and now is an ideal time to create that splash of colour.

Some of the best flowers for hanging baskets, pots and containers are:

• Petunia – these flower from June onwards and have large flowers that come in every colour imaginable;
• Fuchsia – exotic looking flowers festoon these amazing plants throughout the summer months;
• Begonia – immediately recognisable flowers with large blooms that come in a variety of colours;
• Pansy – can also be grown as annuals or perennials and have large flowers;
• Geraniums – many gardeners are aware of the benefits of geraniums. They’re traditional summer bedding plants, they grow well in hanging baskets and are tough enough to brave dry spells without much help;

If you have more than one hanging basket, then consider planting contrasting plants together for instant impact – the classic pairing is an orange begonia with blue petunias

It’s often easy to forget watering your hanging baskets, but it’s vital you don’t make this mistake as the shallow nature of the basket and the limited space for soil means they will dry out quickly.

Make sure that when water your hanging baskets you water them fully: if you don’t, they will just dry out again.

Using a gentle soaking will allow water to better penetrate the soil so that plant roots can easily take in water. In addition, some plants or heavy water usage may require daily watering in hot summer months as there is not enough space for the grass to store moisture.

Take care of the lawn

If your lawn is looking patchy, take time this month to fill in any patches and close up bald spots.

You can do this by using either grass seeds, sand or topsoil.

And, mowing your lawn is a simple task that you should do at least once every week during summer to make it look tidy and healthy.

Make sure the blades on your mower are sharp, and mow your lawn when it’s dry because wet grass clumps together and can’t be cut properly.

When you mow, make sure to bag the clippings so they don’t get scattered across the lawn or left in unsightly piles next to your flower beds, and think carefully before emptying the clippings onto the compost bin as they can take quite a while to break down.

You’ll know that I’m a big fan of stripped lawns, so cutting the grass is one job I have to stay on top of throughout the summer growing season.

Tidy your beds and plant out summer bedding

Now that your spring bulbs have flowered, it’s time to dead head them and remove the old flowers. But don’t cut off the leaves just yet.

Those leaves are playing an important role by catching the energy from the sun, and through photosynthesis, transferring energy in the to plant bulbs so they’ll be full of life for the next spring and summer growing season.

One of the best ways to give your garden a summertime boost is to plant flowers and shrubs that will love all the sun we get during this season.

Here are 4-Beautiful plants that will brighten any Garden:

• Begonias – these flowers offer a variety of bright colors throughout the summer, but they also survive partial shade. This is especially useful for any garden that does not get ample sunlight all year long.
• Nemesia – is a great plant for adding colour to gardens. It can be grown in containers or in the ground and prefers full sun combined with well-drained soil.
• Petunias – bright, cheerful colors to make your garden beautiful. Compact varieties are perfect for beds and borders; trailing varieties work well in hanging baskets. The plants need a fertile but well-draining soil that is also a bit moist.
• Fuchsia – this elegant flower produces its iconic ballerina dress-like flowers for months each summer. It grows well in either full sun or partial shade, always requiring some shelter from strong winds to protect its delicate blooms. Fuchsias make great bedding when planted informal groups of three or four.

Provide support for plants that need it

For taller plants like roses, staking is one of the best ways to keep them from falling over or flattening under their own weight.

There are many different ways to do this, but the most common is using a bamboo cane or stake with plastic twine tied around it.

The process can be tricky and may require some trial and error before you find what works best for your plants.

Prune spring-flowering shrubs

Cut back on the size of many types of shrubs that flower in spring to encourage new growth and to maintain a tidy appearance.

Cut back the stems of some shrubs by one third, others can be cut back more or left alone depending on their ultimate size.

Be careful not to damage young shoots when cutting them back

Shade greenhouses to keep them cool

Shade your greenhouse to keep it cool and prevent plants from getting scorched by the sun.

You can do this by placing some sun shade netting over the greenhouse during the day to avoid direct sunlight, and maybe setting up a fan for extra cooling effect.

Bonus Tip!

Make sure all of your outdoor furniture is clean – this includes anything from deckchairs, sofas, tables or chairs.

It’s important that they’re as free of dirt and grime as possible so you can enjoy them, and the weather, without getting dirty in the process.

In Conclusion

I hope this article has been helpful in giving you some ideas on how to get your garden ready for summer. If I’ve left out any of the information that you need, please feel free to contact me and let me know what more details you need.

Now go outside and enjoy the sunshine!

Ken Crowther is an award winning broadcaster, author and member of the Chartered Institute of Horticulture. He has been gardening for over 50 years and his knowledge and experience are drawn on to provide advice and information about garden design, plants for all seasons, gardening techniques and gardening tips. Gardening with Ken's broad appeal means he reaches a wide audience across the UK from amateur gardeners to top level horticulturists.