Barbara Stockitt's Guide to Classic Gardening...

June

This is the month for clipping your BUXUS when the frosts will have gone.  Check all your buxus plants for pests and disease - keep the plants well watered at the base of the plant.  Control weeds as necessary.  Do the same for your YEW plants

HERBACEOUS plants will be flowering abundantly now and when they have finished flowering cut them down. This helps the plants to maintain the strength and in many cases the plants will flower again.  Do not let the soil dry out.  This will put the plants under stress.  Hand weed between the plants frequently.

Tie new growths on CLIMBING ROSES to avoid wind damage.  Remove suckers as they appear.  These come from below the graft-joint and are usually a paler sappy green.

SHRUBS will need a good soak of water in prolonged dry spells.  With the shrubs that flower on last year‘s wood,  prune after flowering.

Keep your HEDGES weeded and water where necessary.  Those that have recently been planted such as Berberis, Ligastrum (privet), Lonicera Nitida and Taxus Baccata.  Keep the sides of hedges parallel or taper them towards the top.  Keep your shears well oiled and sharp  in order to get a good result.

Lift your BULBS after flowering if you want to move them.  Wait until the foliage has become yellow before moving Spring flowering bulbs.  These should be dried and then re-planted in the autumn.

In the VEGETABLE GARDEN keep up successional sowings of salad crops  Sow marrow and courgettes. Swedes can be sown in the middle of the month.  Keep the soil moist so that the growth is not checked. Tomatoes can be planted outside.  Winter brassicas which were sown in April can now be planted outside. Keep a watch for aphids and spray as necessary.

Mow your LAWN regularly and scarify the surface lightly before mowing.  If weeds are troublesome irrigate if necessary in dry spells.