• Monday 28 May 2018
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June is a super time of year in the garden, you can really start to appreciate all your hard work as it gallops along towards its crescendo.

Chelsea Chop

Things will be looking verdant and lush, and although it may seem counter intuitive, now is a good time to give certain plants the Chelsea chop. So called the Chelsea chop because it coincides with the famous gardening show in Chelsea.  Plants like phlox, asters and perennial geraniums benefit from this. It works particularly well if you have multiple plants of the one variety, so you can do this to half of your stock and leave the rest. Remove a third to a half of the foliage. By doing so you will delay flowering and extend the flowering season of the plant.

Cut back plants like Delphiniums, lupins and poppies after flowering right to the ground. Feed with chicken manure pellets, mulch and give them a good drink of water. They will put on a flush of new foliage and the delphiniums should give a repeat flower in late summer. 

Biennials & Bedding Plants

Sow biennials such as foxgloves, honesty and wallflowers now for flowering next year.

Continue to feed bedding plants with a potash rich feed like tomato food every other week and DEADHEAD, DEADHEAD, DEADHEAD!!

 

Vegatables

Direct sow brassicas and leeks for winter harvest.

You can still sow carrots, french beans and salad leaves. Tie in tomatoes and cucumber to supports and keep well watered. Be sure to pinch out side shoots on your cordon tomatoes in order to direct all the energy into the flowering trusses.

Enclose your carrot beds in plastic or fleece to a metre high, no need to cover the roof. The carrot root fly flies near the ground and can't hop over.

Damp down your greenhouse on hot days to increase humidity. Keeping the greenhouse moist and plants well watered can reduce the risk of red spider mite. Check plants regularly for signs of pests and remove any dead or diseased leaves. 

Water plants preferably in the morning adding a liquid feed once a week.

Wildlife

Consider introducing plants that attract beneficial insects and wildlife into your garden to help develop a balance between pest and predator. Our in store horticulturists can help you choose suitable varieties of shrubs and flowers.

And most importantly, sit back and enjoy your the fruits of your labour!