Tips and Hints

 

Flower Garden

Hoe borders

Move hanging baskets & containers outside

Stake tall plants to prevent wind damage including sweetpeas, delphiniums & lupins

Split irises after flowering

Move spring bulbs to make way for summer bedding

Plant Busy Lizzies, marigolds & pansies etc

Feed flowers weekly to encourage flowers & healthy growth

Dead head fading flowers to encourage a second display

Trim back trailing plants after their first flowering encouraging strong & healthy growth

Make sure beds & borders are well watered during dry weather

Sow winter bedding plants including ornamental cabbages, kale & winter pansies

Pinch out leading shoots on chrysanthemums if you want plants to be bushy or, if you prefer fuller blooms remove a few buds

Feed plants in containers

 

Vegetable Plot

Hoe borders

Pinch side-shoots on tomatoes

Harvest salads and early potatoes

Sow seeds each fortnight to provide a constant supply of salads & vegetables

Plant out vegetable seedlings if started in pots or seed trays

Place tomatoes plants outside

Fruit Garden

Spray Apple trees if suffering from mildew or scab fortnightly

Water fruit bushes & trees

Thin out tree branches after they drop their excess fruit

Tie fruit bushes to canes if necessary

Check netting has been unaffected by birds and other pests

Feed rhubarb crowns once finished

 

Trees & Shrubs

Prune spring flowering shrubs

Glasshouse

Shade greenhouses to keep them cool and prevent plants from scorching

Check for pests including red spider mite, whitefly and aphids

Lawn Care

Mow lawns weekly

Edge lawns with a half-moon edging iron to keep them looking neat

If not done so in May apply a high nitrogen lawn fertiliser

Keep new lawns well-watered

Pest Control

Check roses for insects and disease, treat with a systemic fungicide or insecticide if necessary.

Inspect lilies and containerised pots for unwanted pests

Keep on top of slugs & snails – use pellets or your preferred method of removal.

Wash off caterpillar eggs from the underside of leafy vegetables

Control the spread of  bindweed by using a glyphosate based weed killer

 

Other Jobs this Month

Shade greenhouses to keep them cool and prevent plants from scorching

Check for pests including red spider mite, whitefly and aphids

 

Happy Gardening!