01 June 2023

What To Do In Your Garden In June

June is the start of the summer season, and the garden will begin to explode with bright colours and fabulous floral scents. Early planted summer flowering bulbs will begin to show their blooms, and the grass will begin to grow faster than ever. Keeping up with the garden growth may seem like an overwhelming task, but these simple tips and tricks will help you on your way to the perfect outdoor space.

Plant Feed

Feeding your garden plants it a sure-fire way to keep them looking their best during the summer months. All purpose liquid fertiliser is an easy way to give your plants extra nutrients during the growing period, with selected products tailored for specific needs or plant species. Our most popular plant feed products include;

Shop all plant feeds at Longacres, here.

Hanging Baskets, Wall Pots and Troughs

Hanging baskets, wall pots and troughs are a fantastic addition to the outside of homes or along fences. Adding flowers to a height can decorate plain areas with more colour, and help to fill the garden beyond plant pots and flower beds. Plants such as trailing ivy, petunias and geraniums are popular options for hanging baskets as they create a fantastic contrast to regular bedding plants.

Shop all plant pots, troughs and hanging baskets at Longacres, here.

Flowering Shrubs

Hydrangeas are an ideal shrub for borders or containers. Delicate, long-lasting flowers in mop-head and lace-cap varieties come in a mix of colours. For macrophylla varieties, acidic soil will produce blue flowers and alkaline soil will show pink flowers. Hydrangeas grow best in a moist but well-drained soil with part shade. They can grow well in sunny areas, but would need to be watered regularly as the soil can become dry from the heat. Attractive flowers appear until autumn, often with colourful foliage later in the year.

Roses are a staple addition to most gardens, available in an extensive range of colours, growing types and unique scents. These hardy shrubs flower yearly during summer, and provide full blooms with great visual impact. To encourage growth, pruning dead heads is essential and will allow more flower buds to grow throughout the season.

Lavender is a fantastic plant for well lit, and well-draining soil. Hardy varieties of English lavender will return yearly, and need end of season pruning to look their best. Other, less hardy varieties of lavender, such as French lavender, is also a popular addition to the garden. This type of lavender has ‘bunny ear’ shaped flowers and works well in containers or pots. Additionally, these are the perfect plant to add to the garden if you are wanting to provide for the bees too!

Evergreen Shrubs

Alongside flowering bedding plants and shrubs, a wonderful way to keep your garden looking full is with perennials and evergreen shrubs. By adding these types of plant to your garden you can create symmetry, depth and shape.

Varieties of shrubs and perennials like Euonymus ‘Green Spire’, Carex grass or Angustifolia Lavender look great alongside flowering plants. They bring year-round growth and attract insects, which is excellent for supporting complex food chains in ecosystems.

Box and bay topiary plants look superb during summer and make a great garden feature in containers and borders. Easy to care for, these evergreens need trimming in early June and benefit from continuous release fertiliser granules (such as Miracle-Gro) added to the compost.

Shop all shrubs at Longacres, here.

Climbing Plants

Growing climbers up a fence or wall, or even on a patio in a container, is a fantastic way to add colour and height to the garden. Popular climbers include clematis, passionflower and star jasmine. Plants for shady conditions include ivy (very beneficial to wildlife), climbing hydrangea and honeysuckle.

Giving climbing plants a secure frame to grow along is vital for long lasting, healthy plants. Our favourite styles are the following;

Wooden Fan Trellis
Traditional Framed Trellis
Metal Decorative Trellis
Metal Garden Arbour
Wooden Garden Archway

Shop landscaping trellises at Longacres, here.

Shop support trellises at Longacres, here.

Watering

Watering newly planted trees and shrubs is important during the summer months to get them established, as strong winds and sunshine can dry soil quickly. Give plants a heavy watering twice a week (ideally early morning to avoid evaporation or burnt leaves) rather than little and often (which makes plants more dependent on water.)

Use a hose or watering can and aim to water the base of the plant rather than the foliage. Adding mulch to the top of the soil after watering helps to retain moisture around the roots and protect against drought conditions.

Why not try some of these products?

For the more experienced gardener, there’s also drip irrigation systems. These watering networks sit on the surface of the soil and are designed to deliver water directly to the roots of the plants, saving time and reducing water waste.

Shop water irrigation systems at Longacres, here!

Garden Maintenance

Cleaning and maintenance is a good way to prepare the garden for planting. New foliage grows, but dying greenery and debris can still build up in flowerbeds. As spring bulbs die back, it is vital to clear the dead plant away to avoid bulbs rotting and improve the chance of them re-flowering the following year. Keeping an area tidy and well-maintained also gives new growth the best chance to thrive.

Keeping up with tasks like this can feel overwhelming, but with a repertoire of garden tools, the job can be made much easier. We recommend having a range of essentials to hand like rakes, garden waste bags, weeding tools and pruners.

Take a look at some of our favourites: