June is a wonderful time in the garden, the weather is warmer and it’s encouraging flowers to appear in abundance. Here are a few tasks to keep on top of at this time of the year:

Flowers

• Stake plants that are prone to flopping;
• Continue planting summer bedding in pots and borders, watering them regularly in order to help plants establish quickly;
• Tie in new stems of climbing and rambling roses horizontally to supports, this will encourage more flowers;
• Give a liquid feed to pots and hanging baskets every few weeks to encourage flowering;
• Prune late-spring or early-summer shrubs after flowering, such as Kerria and Philadelphus, and thin out any older stems;

Fruit and veg

• Plant out sweetcorn after hardening off, arranging plants in blocks to assist with pollination;
• Cover ripening fruits with netting or fleece to protect them from hungry birds;
• Water vegetables and fruit in containers regularly, especially during dry sunny weather;
• Go on regular snail and slug hunts, especially on damp evenings, to reduce numbers;
• Apply tomato feed regularly to fruiting vegetable crops, including tomatoes, courgettes, and chillies;

Greenhouse

• Sow biennials such as foxgloves and wallflowers in seed trays;
• Shade greenhouses to keep temperatures down on hot days and open vents and doors on warm days. Damping down your greenhouse on hot days will help with increasing humidity;
• Sow herbs such as coriander, parsley and basil in pots to grow on the kitchen windowsill;
• Pinch out the side-shoots of cordon tomatoes regularly and apply a weekly feed;
• Water plants daily in warm weather, ideally in the evening or early morning. Avoid splashing the foliage as sunlight can burn leaves with water sitting on them;
• Introduce biological controls to the greenhouse if you have pests such as whitefly or red spider mite;
• Harden off hanging baskets and pots of summer bedding that have been growing in the greenhouse;
• If your strawberries need a little help ripening, bring them in to the warmth of the greenhouse. This will also protect them against bird, slug and snail damage;

Garden maintenance

• Keep weeding and dead-heading plants to ensure your borders stay looking at their best;
• Continue watering any new plants until they’re well established;
• Water newly laid lawn regularly, for at least the first month;
• Before starting any trimming or pruning tasks, check hedges and shrubs for nesting birds in order that you don’t disturb them;
• Treat pots with vine weevil control if you’ve had problems with this pest previously. The larvae become active this month, feeding on plant roots particularly in pots, and the adults feed on the leaves;
• Dig out perennial weeds such as dandelions as soon as you spot them;
• Feed lawns with a liquid or granular lawn fertiliser;
• Remove pond weed as it can quickly get out of control as the weather gets warmer;
• Place houseplants outside for the summer in a warm, sheltered spot to enjoy the fresh air and extra light;