Owner of Barnsdale Gardens, Nick Hamilton, shares his June gardening checklist
Now with so many roses and the bulk of our garden perennials bursting into flower, this really is where our summer floral peak begins. We do sometimes forget to enjoy the fruits of our labour, because there is always something that needs doing and, as we all know, it is the doing that we enjoy the most! While you are out in the garden “doing” make sure to keep an eye out for emerging pests too, because nipping any attack in the bud early saves a lot of potential problems later. Saying that, before you start on the jobs list for this month, please spare some time to enjoy all that the start of summer brings.
Spray roses
Having just mentioned how lovely the roses are this month, in order to keep them looking good it is important to control the greenfly. With all those fresh young shoots and forming buds they are perfect for these insects. I find that a spray with a diluted environmentally friendly washing up liquid does the trick. This job is not precise and I generally recommend a dollop of washing up liquid and water – that really is as technical as it gets!
Harvesting asparagus
I love this vegetable. It is expensive to buy and much better when eaten freshly harvested, with a lot of gardeners not realising how easy it is to grow. However, the time for eating is coming to an end and midsummer’s day is when you should take your final harvest. If you don’t allow the plant to feed itself then there will be a much reduced harvest next year, so leave the spears to grow into lovely, fluffy fronds which will photosynthesise and build up the energy for next year.
Thin apples
At this time of year, apples will naturally relieve themselves of the excess fruit they are carrying. However, they usually shed more than they should, so by doing this yourself you will guarantee a better harvest. Thin fruits down to one or two per cluster, making sure you remove the “king” fruit at the centre of the group. By doing this you should get an excellent crop of well-sized fruit.
Earth up potatoes
Not only is this job essential to ensure the best crop of potatoes possible but it also helps to get rid of excess grass. I use a method called “sheet mulching” that involves sprinkling a thin layer of grass cuttings over the ground around the potatoes, which not only helps to alleviate the problem of excess grass clippings but also adds organic matter to the ground. As we need to carry out regular earthing up, as the potato tops grow, these clippings get mixed into the soil during this process.
Prune flowering cherries
There is a debilitating fungal disease called “silver leaf” which, if the tree becomes infected, will turn the leaves silvery, reducing their ability to produce food so that over a period of time, they will gradually weaken and ultimately die. If your tree needs a prune then this is the month to do it, as it will have finished flowering and be in full growth, so all wounds created will heal quickly, vastly reducing the chance of any fungal infection taking hold.
Dead-head tulips
We’ve had a spectacular display from these bulbs this year and will do next, if we prevent them from wasting energy by producing unwanted seed. This is the time to go round and dead-head, thus making sure all the plant’s energies are directed to the bulb for next year’s flowering. I like to cut the stem back to the highest leaf, but just removing the seed head at the end would suffice.
