insideKENT Magazine Issue 51 - June 2016 | Page 130

OUTDOORLIVING

YOUR GARDEN: june
SUMMER ARRIVES
21st June is the longest day of the year, and the extra light and warmth
encourages the garden to put on an exuberant burst of growth. But this extra
light and warmth also means weeds will sprout up from seemingly nowhere.
Keep on top of them by hoeing regularly in dry conditions.

TOP 10 JOBS THIS MONTH
1. Hoe borders regularly to keep down weeds
2. Be water-wise, especially in drought-affected
areas
3. Pinch out sideshoots in tomatoes
4. Harvest lettuce, radish, other salads and early
potatoes
5. Position summer hanging baskets and
containers outside
6. Mow lawns at least once a week
7. Plant out summer bedding
8. Stake tall or floppy plants
9. Prune many spring-flowering shrubs
10. Shad greenhouses to keep them cool and
prevent scorch

TOP TIPS
Flowers
Plant out summer bedding and seed-raised
plants, if not already done so. Make sure they
are well watered in and keep moist during dry
weather.
Plant out cannas and dahlias once danger of
frost has passed.
Gaps in herbaceous borders are best filled with
annual bedding at this stage in the season. One
exception is anemones (e.g. Anemone coronaria),
which take about three months to flower after
planting. The rhizomes are best planted now,

after an overnight soaking, 5cm (2in) deep in a
suitably moist but free-draining soil or compost
with lots of added leaf mould or organic matter.
Perennials such as hollyhock, delphiniums
(D. 'Fenella', left) and lupins can be sown directly
into drills outside once the seed heads have
ripened and started to split naturally. If garden
space is limited you can sow them into pots and
place them in a cold frame or by the base of a
sheltered wall in filtered sunlight.
Thin out direct sowings of hardy annuals. This is
best done in two or three stages at fortnightly
intervals. Final spacings should be between 1020cm (4-8in), using the upper limit for tall or
spreading plants, and the lower limit for smaller
plants.
Hoe borders to prevent annual and perennial
weeds from spreading and seeding themselves.
Tackle bindweed when it appears in a border.
Lift clumps of forget-me-not once the display
wanes, and before too many seeds are released
– they can become invasive if left unchecked.
Stake tall perennials to prevent wind damage to
flower spikes. Sweet peas need training and tying
in to their supports to encourage them to climb
and make a good display.
Liquid feed containerised plants every two to four
weeks. Keep tubs, hanging baskets and alpine
troughs well watered. Use collected rainwater,
or recycled grey water wherever possible.

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Lawns
Regularly mow lawns to keep them in shape removing 'little and often' is the key to a good
quality sward. Continue cutting lawn edges with
a half-moon edging iron to ensure they are neat.
Mow pathways through areas of long grass to
allow access to other areas of the garden (left).
Add grass clippings to the compost heap in thin
layers (too much grass all at once is likely to be
very wet and poorly aerated, resulting in smelly
slime rather than compost).
Apply a high nitrogen summer lawn fertiliser if
not done last month to encourage a healthylooking lawn - always follow the manufacturer's
instructions carefully, as any over-use or runoff
can cause water pollution.
Move garden furniture and other objects regularly
to allow grass to recover and prevent yellow
patches.
Ensure new lawns (either from turf or seed) do
not dry out during hot weather, as turves will
shrink if allowed to dry out, and fail to knit together.
During periods of prolonged dry weather, you
could help by keeping your lawn a little longer
than usual, and even investing in a mulching
mower. Mulching mowers shred the grass
clippings very finely and then blow them into the
lower layers of the turf, where they act like mulch
to help the lawn retain moisture. Because the