June is when your garden really comes to life – and when you’ll spend more time outside than you have all year. The roses are hitting their stride, the lawn needs cutting often, and everything seems to grow while you’re watching.
It’s also when things can go wrong quickly. Miss watering for a few days, and your containers turn into crispy disappointments. Ignore the aphids on your roses and they’ll be covered in a week. But get your June routine sorted, and you’ll have a garden that looks fantastic right through to September.
Here is what actually needs to be done this month.
1. Deadheading
Forget the fancy gardening books that make deadheading sound complicated. Here’s the truth: if you cut off the dead flowers, most plants will make more flowers. If you don’t, they’ll put their energy into making seeds instead.
How to Do It Without Overthinking
Cut back to the next leaf or bud down the stem. With roses, find a leaf with five leaflets pointing outward from the bush and cut just above it. With bedding plants like petunias, just pinch off the spent flowers; you don’t need secateurs.
The key is doing it regularly. Ten minutes every weekend morning with a cup of tea in hand beats an hour-long session once a month.
What’s Actually Worth Deadheading
Focus on plants that flower repeatedly, like roses, dahlias, sweet peas, and most bedding plants. Don’t bother with things that only flower once, like alliums or foxgloves, unless the spent flowers look terrible.
Delphiniums are worth cutting right back to ground level after flowering as they’ll often give you a second show in August. Same with hardy geraniums and catmint, though you’ll feel brutal cutting them back when they still look decent.
2. Watering
British summers aren’t as wet as we pretend they are. June often brings weeks without proper rain, and your garden will suffer if you’re waiting for the weather to do your job.
When and How Much
Water in the morning before it gets hot. Evening watering works too, but morning is better because plants can actually use the water instead of losing half of it to evaporation.
Give plants a proper drink rather than a daily sprinkle. Stick your finger into the soil around your plants – if it’s dry 5cm down, it’s time to water. Most people water too little, too often, which creates plants with shallow roots that struggle in hot weather.
The Reality of Containers
Hanging baskets and pots are basically outdoor houseplants; they need water almost every day in hot weather. If you’re going away for more than two days in summer, organise someone to water them or accept they might look rough when you get back.
Group your pots together near a water source and use a watering can with a proper rose attachment. Trying to water pots with a hose usually means half the water ends up on the paving.
Lawns and Water
Most established lawns can cope with dry spells better than you think. Yellow grass in summer isn’t dead – it’s dormant and will green up when rain returns. If you do water your lawn, do it properly with a sprinkler once or twice a week rather than waving a hose around daily.
3. Lawn Care
June is when your lawn grows fastest, which means mowing becomes a weekly chore whether you like it or not. The good news is that regular cutting actually makes grass healthier and thicker.
Mowing Often
Cut once a week, taking off no more than a third of the grass height. If you’ve let it get long, cut it twice over a few days rather than scalping it in one go. Your mower will cope better, and the grass won’t go into shock.
Sharp blades make all the difference. If your grass looks brown after cutting, your blades need sharpening or replacing.
Edges Make Everything Look Better
A neat edge transforms any lawn from scruffy to smart. Use a half-moon edging tool once a month, or a spade if you don’t have proper tools. Follow the existing line rather than trying to create new curves.
If edging feels like too much work, consider installing permanent edging strips. The plastic or metal ones work well and save hours of maintenance over a season.
Summer Feeding
Feed your lawn in early June if you haven’t already done it. Use a granular summer fertiliser and apply it just before rain, or water it in yourself. Don’t feed in hot, dry weather as you’ll scorch the grass.
4. Dealing with Pests (Without Chemicals)
June brings aphids, slugs, and various other creatures that want to eat your plants. The temptation is to reach for the spray, but there are better ways to handle most problems.
Aphids
Aphids multiply fast, so check your roses and soft new growth regularly. If you catch them early, a strong spray with the hose knocks most of them off.
For heavier infestations, squash them between your fingers (wear gloves if you’re squeamish) or use an insecticidal soap spray. The soap sprays work well and don’t harm beneficial insects if you use them sensibly.
Slugs and Snails
Go out with a torch after dark or early in the morning, and you’ll be amazed how many slugs and snails are munching on your plants. Hand-picking is tedious but effective, especially for small gardens.
Beer traps work, but can attract slugs from neighbouring gardens. Copper tape around pots stops them climbing up, though it’s expensive for large areas. Coffee grounds scattered around plants may help, though the evidence is mixed.
Encouraging the Good Guys
Plant flowers that beneficial insects actually want, not the hybrids that look pretty but produce no nectar. Lavender, fennel, calendula, and sweet alyssum all attract hoverflies and other aphid predators.
Leave some areas of your garden slightly wild. Beneficial insects need places to shelter and breed, which pristine gardens don’t provide. A pile of logs or some longer grass in a corner makes a huge difference.
Real-World Garden Tasks for June
Feeding Plants That Actually Need It
Containers need weekly feeding with liquid fertiliser – they’re entirely dependent on you for nutrients. Roses benefit from a monthly feed with rose fertiliser or general-purpose plant food.
Vegetables, especially tomatoes and courgettes, are heavy feeders and will reward regular feeding with better crops. Don’t bother feeding established shrubs and perennials unless they’re looking genuinely poor.
Support Before It’s Too Late
Stake tall perennials before they flop over, not after. Once a delphinium has fallen over, staking it looks artificial, and the plant never recovers its natural shape.
Use hazel pea sticks for a natural look, or invest in proper plant supports that can be reused. Put supports in place when plants are about half their final height.
Harvesting to Keep Things Going
Pick vegetables and cut flowers regularly. The more you harvest, the more plants produce. Leave courgettes to get enormous, and the plant stops producing new ones.
Cut herbs frequently to keep them producing tender growth. Let them flowe,r and the leaves become tough and bitter.
Setting Up a June Routine That Works
The secret to successful June gardening is doing the important things consistently. A quick tour of the garden each morning with a cup of coffee lets you spot problems before they become disasters.
Keep a watering can filled near your most vulnerable plants. Deadhead whenever you’re wandering around the garden. Water thoroughly when things need it rather than sprinkling daily, because it makes you feel better.
Most garden problems in June come from neglect rather than lack of knowledge. Plants are remarkably forgiving if you pay attention to their basic needs. The Instagram-perfect gardens you see online require far more work than most of us can realistically manage – aim for healthy and attractive rather than magazine-perfect.
Remember that gardening is supposed to be enjoyable. If you’re stressed about getting everything done, you’re probably trying to do too much. Pick the tasks that make the biggest difference to how your garden looks and feels, and don’t worry about the rest.
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