“It is the month of June, The month of leaves and roses, When pleasant sights salute the eyes, And pleasant scents the noses.” Gardening in June is my favourite time of year. Yes, I know I say that every month of the seasonal gardening calendar (!) but our June garden is the one to beat so far this year. Despite the cold and wet Spring we all endured in the UK, the early promise in our garden last month has definitely manifested. With advance warning of a very long, and very photo-heavy post, let’s see what’s flowering and fruiting in our garden this June, and take a look at my June gardening to do list too.
What to do in the garden in June
With the arrival of the Summer season (finally), this month it’s all about water. And I don’t just mean our ponds, which are teeming with life 24/7. We have hundreds of tiny frogs beginning to migrate across the lawn, masses of garden birds visiting to drink and bathe, but sadly fewer fish thanks to a passing heron. (We can’t net the pond because of the pump and water feature). And gardening in June also brings the most time-consuming of all my gardening jobs for the month – watering everything every other day. Although I realise my June gardening tips relate to the South West of England, I hope some of them will be pertinent, wherever you are in the world.
Planting flowers in June
So, I mentioned bi-daily watering, because warm weather equals warm soil, which is the best gardening soil for new growth, and ideal for planting in June. Just take care it doesn’t dry out and your plants don’t dessicate though. Some of the best seeds to sow for flowers in June are wildflowers, like the beautiful red poppy in this post’s cover photo. Although what you sow now may not flower until next summer. Other native British wildflowers you might like are the beautiful, edible blue cornflowers* or the prolifically self-seeding yellow Welsh poppy.
Apart from wildflowers, what other colour might you enjoy in June? Irises are always reliable and come in all colours – you do need to plant the bulbs in Autumn for Summer colour though. And if you don’t fancy traditional blue you can revel in powdery purple, gleaming bronze, or zingy yellow irises. There are other colours too, but these are what we have blooming in our June garden.
There’s nothing nicer than walking past a house and having the scent greet you, accompany you, and follow you. Easy wins are the purple wisteria and that quintessential cottage garden match, a climbing rose weaving her way through some glorious honeysuckle. All three plants are perfect for pollinators as well as looking beautiful to boot.
And on the subject of scent, as many people know, June is traditionally the month for roses, of which we have many 🙂 On the left is an unidentified dark pink beauty, entwined with the honeysuckle by our front door. On the right is another unidentified pale pink stunner, who’s outgrown her arch and is spreading into some neighbouring trees. Both are colourful, fragrant, and prolifically putting on lots of new growth. Which means lots of cut flowers for our house and plenty of daily deadheading…
One of the best gardening ideas I’ve discovered is companion planting. Normally seen in the vegetable bed, there’s no reason why it can’t apply to fruit trees. And the perfumed Paul’s Himalayan Musk rose scrambling through our peach tree is a great example. As the roses flower, they’ll attract bees, who will also visit and pollinate the peach flowers. Tip: try and work with Nature, it makes a gardener’s life so much easier. And I have to share a picture of a bloom on my lovely white Madame Alfred Carriere, grown from a rose cutting taken way back in September 2018. Tip: Nature will teach you the real meaning of patience, oh yes.
June planting also includes pots, although I’m trying to cut down on the number we have as they mean too much watering. But one of my favourite colour combinations is yellow and purple, so here are some of our potted flowers to enjoy. From left to right, purple osteospermum, followed by purple wallflowers with yellow cosmos* (sown from seed this year), and finally some purple and yellow wallflowers. Wallflowers are scented so I’ve placed ours by the front and back doors, to greet us on entry and exit.
And last but not least, June flowering plants that are good for tricky places. On the left, clematis are great for vertical planting as they do well in the ground or in pots, provided you plant them deeply and keep their roots shaded. Hot pink salvia are more drought-tolerant and relish sunny spots. And if you have a lot of dry shade, the little purple geranium nodosum is your go-to for jewel-like bursts of scrambling colour.
Vegetable gardening in June
If you’re wondering, can I start a veggie garden in June, then yes, indeed you can. Now is the optimum seed sowing time for pumpkins*, broccoli* and fennel*. And spring onions*, which I always sow alongside my carrots* as the onion smell masks the carrot smell and helps to deter the carrot fly pest. Other vegetables that can be planted in June are deliciously crunchy sugar snap peas*, even more beans* and quick to grow salad leaf crops*. Just beware if you sow tree spinach, it self-seeds prolifically, although the upside is you can keep harvesting the new seedlings as microgreens instead.
Do you remember all the seedlings in the greenhouse last month? Well, I’ve had a good clear out and all that’s left are the French lavender* seedlings and edible pelargonium cuttings, both of which I’ll pot up very soon. I’ve also sown a few Romanesco* cauliflower seeds which have just sprouted, so need to stay under cover until they’re more established. However, I’ve planted out all our tomato plants* into prepared soil (I just emptied a Gro-bag into the earth). If you look closely, you might spot a few little yellow flowers, which will turn into fruits in due course. And in front of the tomatoes on the right are a couple of tiny chilli plants, especially for Alan <3
Outside in our raised beds in the orchard things are growing away at a great rate. I find raised bed gardening much easier than planting into the ground as I have more control over what I grow – at least, that’s the theory. At the front of the first bed are our multi-coloured climbing French beans* and those plants with the bright pink flowers are the edible nasturtiums*. When I say edible, I mean the flowers, which have a lovely, sharp peppery taste, perfect as a garnish or in salads. And it’s another example of companion planting to attract beneficial insects and repel pests. Behind the beans, in front of the gooseberry bush, are the the cucumbers* and cucamelons*, as per Flora’s request following a successful trial last year. Once I’ve cleared a few of the tree spinach seedlings, I’ll be popping in the Rudbeckia Cherry Brandy* seedlings too.
In our second bed we have our broad beans* and the surprise potatoes, which are positively storming away. This year, for the first time, I’ve noticed black fly on the beans, even though I pinched out the tips. No matter, it won’t affect the taste when they’re ready to pick. And over in the third bed is my finest example of companion planting. Well, to be honest, it’s an experiment but you know me, I’m always up for trying, I like my gardening to be fun as well as productive 🙂 So we have some Sweetcorn*, French beans*, Claret Sunflowers* and the left over sweet pea seedlings that I couldn’t fit into our flower beds. Oh, and one more of the edible nasturtiums*, because well, why not?
Gardening in June wouldn’t be complete without a reference to our fruit trees and bushes. If you recall, last month I said that the pear tree, plum tree and kiwi bush were growing tiny fruits already. Look at them now.
And the apple, cherry, and damson trees have lots of baby fruits too.
And last but not least, it looks like the gooseberry bushes and fig tree will have a good harvest to come.
Finally, back in our garden in our last raised bed, you can see some edible orange calendulas*in front of the lemon balm (great for herb teas), sprouting broccoli, two pots of blueberries, some edible blue borage, and the raspberries. And our rhubarb is cropping very heavily at the moment, so I’m glad I have these yummy rhubarb recipes on hand, to make the most of it over the next few weeks!
Gardening jobs to do in June
The most important job on my June gardening to do list is watering. (I feel I may not have mentioned that quite enough before…) But my absolute FIND of last year, this 150ft flexible, expandable hose pipe, is hands down the best gardening hose* in the WORLD. I’ve even bought another one, in case they ever go out of stock, because it reaches all the way around the front of the house, to the back of the garden, and all the way to the bottom of the orchard. No more multiple trips to the tap with heavy watering cans for me, huzzah.
While on the subject of gardening jobs, I cannot stress enough the importance of investing in good quality equipment. It might seem expensive, but it will last far longer than any of the bargains you find at your local B&M gardening centre (sorry, B&M). And it will make your gardening life so much easier. Above are my Amazon picks for the best gardening rake*, best gardening hoe*, best gardening shoes* (don’t go for the ones with integral socks, they get too wet and muddy), and the best gardening tool set* which contains everything a keen gardener is likely to need. Oh, and don’t forget a pair of really sharp, heavy duty secateurs* either, they won’t let you down. Alternatively, if you want to treat yourself instead, may I direct you to some of the best gardening gifts* I’ve found on Amazon this year.
Apart from watering then, I’ll be deadheading, weeding, pruning, and hoeing on dry days to keep everything as tidy as possible. And I’ll be tying in all the new growth on flowers, fruits, vegetables, and anything else that’s flopping and in danger of snapping. As well as harvesting lots of edible flowers for our summer salads – nasturtiums, cornflowers, calendulas, borage, pelargoniums, to name but a few. Idea: would you all like to see a new post on the easiest edible flowers to grow and harvest? Let me know in the comments if so!
Wildlife gardening jobs for June
As mentioned earlier, the main wildlife pond is teeming with life, although more amphibian and avian than piscine. We’re beginning to realise that we may need to plant at least one mature tree to shade the pond soon though, as the poor pond pump is struggling to cope with all the algae production. But don;t the marginal pond plants look lovely? And we’ve even spotted a few damselflies recently too.
Our bee box is filling up – more and more of the tubes have been sealed, which is just lovely to see, and to know we’ve given solitary bees somewhere safe to lay their eggs for the future. If you want hang a bee box outside, then a bug hotel like this on Amazon* costs less than £15.00. Not too expensive to help these fabulous little powerhouses, is it?
Following on from #NoMowMay and #EveryFlowerCounts last month, we’ve decided to leave a few patches of grass in our orchard unmown. They’re very happily growing wilder and wilder, with cow parsley, buttercups, daisies, thistles, and dandelions, which are great food for birds and bees. And elsewhere, up until recently Alan was mowing the grass on a high setting to avoid scalping the lawn in dry weather. Now, due to all the migrating baby frogs, he’s holding off for a few weeks, to avoid mass murder.
Gardening in June – a summary
So there we are, my June gardening update – full of colour, scent and food to harvest already. I hope you can see why I think this month is the best one in our garden to date. And that, as always, I’ve managed to answer the most popular questions including:
- What to plant in the garden in June?
- Is June too late to plant vegetables?
- What should I do in my garden in June?
Phew, I think this my longest post yet, nearly 2,300 words! If you’re still here, have you enjoyed your virtual visit to our garden and orchard this month? I hope you’ve found my gardening tips for June useful too. And that I’ll see you next month, when I’m sure even more colour, scent, and edibles will be flourishing. Until then, stay safe, stay outdoors, and remember, “June is the gateway to summer.”
What would you like to be growing in your garden or outside space this June? Are there any unanswered June garden questions I can help you with? What do you love most about gardening in June?
* This post features affiliate links but all opinions are my own (see my Disclaimer).
I absolutely love your garden and all the amazing bursts of colour, wonderful looking vegetables that you have. I love my garden too, but I certainly don’t have the room that you have! Thanks for sharing and reminding us what to do each month in our gardens.
Oh thank you so much, Jodie, that’s so kind of you – yes, we are incredibly lucky to have our outside space, but I did pay my dues with a window box for 15 years beforehand, haha!
Your garden looks so lovely with all those flowers! I so wish I could grow as many things as you – I don’t have a green thumb and a poor track record with plants! But we do have a little veggie patch I’m trying to encourage things to grow in! the spring onions work well but although we have a few things growing, nothing else to be harvested yet!
Hope you had a good weekend! It was a quiet one here 🙂
Thank you, Mica, we do have a lot of space though, so I can experiment more – even if not everything works 🙂 Good luck, and happy harvesting in due course.
June hun your garden looks lovely! All the gorgeous flowers that grow, makes me want a garden. One day when I have one I’ll definitely come back to your gardening posts x
Ah, thank you, Aaliyah, I’m so glad you enjoy these posts in the meantime x
Looks like you got a lot going on in your garden…that’s awesome! you really have the best pics of your plants, no doubt. My fave are those clematis and white Madame Alfred Carriere. They’re so beautiful! Thanks for sharing! Always looking forward to your garden-related posts!
We do indeed, it was hard to narrow down all the photos, I have many more that didn’t make the post! Thank you, Monique, that’s really lovely to hear 🙂
Really, you’ve got a garden, orchard and ranch. Smiles! Those fishes, so sad but suppose every mouth needs to be fed.
I’m excited about the sweetcorn though!
We are very lucky, yes, we are! Love your take on the fish, that really made me laugh!
I love reading your gardening posts Lisa! We’re moving house soon, going to somewhere with a much bigger garden and I’ve bookmarked your blog for inspiration. I love the garden we have at the moment, but now I know what’s coming I’m so so excited! Haha.
Claire.X
http://www.clairemac.co.uk
Aw, thank you, Claire – and wow, how exciting, what a wonderful treat to look forward to, a really big garden to get stuck into – I hope you’ll post all about it in due course! x
I’m loving these gardening posts! I really enjoy getting out in the garden but I don’t know what I’m doing a lot of the time so these really help!
Katy | http://www.katystephenson.com
Ah, thank you, that’s lovely to hear – although my gardening is very much trial and error too!
Ah loved reading this Lisa, as always! Although I think I’d be a nervous wreck in your garden at the moment with all the frogs! Eeeek! I really didn’t realise that June was such a good time to sow seeds for certain veggies. I’d have thought the time was well past to start to grow anything, being in the middle of Summer. Your garden is looking lovely, as always! xxx
Oh, Jenny, you wouldn’t, the baby frogs are so tiny, some are the size of my little finger nail, they are super cute! Yes, now’s a great time for sowing seeds for harvesting in Summer and in Autumn (planning ahead) – and thank you, as always! xxx
Wow your garden really is in bloom now! My peonies and roses have started to bloom and it is amazing!
Rosie
Thank you, Rosie, our peonies are a bit behind yours but I’m looking forward to them opening up!
I love reading your garden updates, and this is a great insight into gardening in June 🙂 these images are so pretty, I love the wildflower look x
Thank you, Eleanor, that’s very kind of you! x
oh my goodness this is my dream garden! I’ve heard about companion planting but never thought about using it to attract bees to pollinate fruit! I might use that trick for my strawberries x
mia // https://beautiful-inspiring-creative-life.com/
That’s so kind of you to say so, I’m so happy you enjoyed the post – good luck with your strawberries! x
I love your monthly gardening posts! At our allotment, the broadbeans (my favourite), peas, radishes, strawberries & new potatoes are ready and delicious 😍 We also have sweet peas & cornflowers up which are my absolute favourite flowers. I’m about to sow some lettuce in a trough outside our back door x
Oooh, you’re ahead of me, our broad beans are tiny and I don’t know what’s happening with our potatoes! Our sweet peas are at bud stage now though, so hopefully they won’t be too much longer! x
Every month I see your gardening updates I am more and more in awe of your garden, Lisa! I mean the pictures are always amazing and make me miss having a green space to plant and grow flowers. I have seen bug hotels popping up everywhere and it’s such a great idea! I love to stand at my window and watch bumblebees on the flowers we have potted outside x
Aw, thank you, Cristina, that’s very kind – but I do have a lot of space to play with so I’m lucky! I’m so glad you have some flowers to admire, as well as provide food for the bees 🙂 x
I believe June is the best month for gardening. Am I right? Hehehe. Reading this post makes me happy. I love looking at beautiful flowers. They give me inspiration to do my art. Thank you for sharing.
You are absolutely right – and that makes me so happy to read, thank you so much!
I love all the photos. Your garden is gorgeous!! Well done for leaving grass to grow for pollinators. You have so many fruits and veggies growing in the garden, how exciting. I harvested some edible flowers and dill today and I love it. It’s not a lot, but it is very rewarding to grow food.
My bug hotel is not very popular and I wonder why. It’s near the flowers, in what seems like a good position.
Thank you, Anca! Yay for edible flowers, they’re such fun, aren’t they? My dill hasn’t come up this year, but TBH I don’t have space for it now! Is your bug hotel in a sunny spot, above head height? Ours isn’t that near the flowers but it seems to be very popular with all the bees 🙂
Very informative. Being in the US, it was interesting to see what’s best planted in your area in June. And there were several things I’ve never heard of like the Paul’s Himalayan Musk rose, cucamelons, and Rudbeckia Cherry Brandy. Thanks so much for all of the pictures too!
Thank you so much, I’m so glad you found the post useful!
That red poppy is beautiful and so vibrant Lisa, I love your gardening posts! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
Thank you, Lucy, and yes, she sure is! x
Yes to your gardening shoes pick, Lisa! I have an almost-identical pair.
Your vegetables and flora are all doing so marvelously! By watering dutifully every evening, our vegetable and herb gardens are finally beginning to blossom. We have many peas, kale, and chard, with summer squashes on the way and plenty of tomatoes and flowers. Edible nasturtiums are a favorite of mine on salads so I plant plenty. 🙂
Thanks for sharing!
They are so comfy, aren’t they? 🙂 Glad to hear I’m not alone with all the watering, Jaya, sometimes it feels like a long old slog!
Hi Lisa,
More fantastic photos and gardening tips, thank you. You really do have a beautiful garden.
A quick garden-related question, if I may. How the hell do you get rid of ants? We are over-run with them at the moment and it’s making it unpleasant to spend time any in the garden because within 5 minutes they are all over us! Can you hire anteaters? 😉
Thank you, Richie, that’s very kind 🙂 TBH, there’s not an easy answer to ants. You can try ant powders and granules, but if you’re worried about the dogs then you could try soda water on their next, which effectively suffocates them (sorry, ants). Or you can try digging up the nests and moving them somewhere else?
Great post! I love these garden updates! The flowers look so pretty and I love the purple and yellow together! Thank you for sharing this!
Thank you so much, I’m so happy you enjoy them 🙂
I love reading about your gardens so so much! Though I do have one, I just cannot get myself to take care of it as much as you do. I do focus more on the vegetable side, like planting spring onions and some herbs. Maybe building a raised bed would solve my problems 😅
Well, we haven put in a lot of time over the years, but although I’m fairly new to raised beds, I can definitely recommend them!
You have a wonderful garden as always, Lisa! I think having the best equipment is one of the reasons.
Ha, thank you, Frank, hard graft as well!
The veggies look amazing and like they are thriving. This reminds me of my Mum’s garden and how I loved to see it change and grow through time. Lovely post — I wish I had a garden of my own!
Ah thank you, Molly, that’s a lovely thing to say! Hope you’ll have your own garden one day soon 🙂
I haven’t planted too much but my mint has exploded! I’m gonna have to get some more herbs on the go I think as we use them so much in cooking xx
Oh yes, mint is a complete thug – still, think of all those mocktails you can enjoy this summer! xx
Love the garden! Just harvested some more lettuce and radishes recently, and the first zucchini of the season is almost done growing! The flowers look so beautiful, I need to plant more flowers next year. Thanks for sharing your garden update and the lovely photos!
Alexis
Oh yum, we love radishes, but I can’t get Flora to eat courgettes, unfortunately! Your veggie hauls sounds delicious though 🙂
Another post shared with my gran! Our garden is blooming now and all the pretty colours are so inviting. I’ll have to pick up some poppy seeds, they are so lovely. Our roses are blooming now and they are my favourite, all pink!
I’ve seen the pink rose on your Insta feed, it’s so pretty! And yes, poppies are really easy to grow (and prolific, they self-seed so you only need to sow them once!) – so pleased your gran likes these posts 🙂
Your garden is so so beautiful and inspiring.
It’s excellent that your bug hotel is filling up – I definitely want one for my garden 🙂
Cora | https://www.teapartyprincess.co.uk/
Thank you, Cora, that’s very kind – and yes, we’re very happy the bees are so happy!
I legit learned so much from this post! You have such a beautiful garden omg. Those flowers are gorgeous. Your garden tells a whole story and I love it!
That’s so kind of you, Inna, I’m really pleased you enjoyed it so much 🙂
Blue cornflowers are so beautiful. Your garden is really beautiful. I love all the flower pictures.
Thank you, cornflowers are some of my faves too.
Great post! Your garden is absolutely beautiful – I love all the colours – and I really hope I can have a garden as lovely one day. Thanks for sharing x
Thank you so much, that’s very kind of you 🙂
I adore all of your flowers. We keep talking about needing to do something with the flower garden in the front of our house, but it keeps being put aside for some reason. I’m not sure why hahaha! We both prioritized our vegetable garden rather quickly… We enjoyed our first cucumber fresh out of the garden the other day. We can also see tomatoes and strawberries emerging. Oh, and I noticed flowers on our zucchini. I can’t wait until we can start harvesting more – there is something so rewarding about eating food that you have grown yourself.
Thank you, Britt! Flowers are my faves as they’re such easy wins and I’m lazy 🙂 But lucky you to have fresh cucumber already – they’re delicious, aren’t they? Nothing like shop bought ones – happy harvesting!
Oooh! Love that your garden is still flourishing! Big fan of how you have so many different florals growing. Big plus with the colorful schematics as well. Love that you even have fruits and veggies growing too! Keep up the great work with your garden :)!
Nancy ✨
Thank you, Nancy, I’m so pleased you enjoyed your virtual tour! 🙂
Our borage didn’t make it this year, I’m not sure what happened. The yellow Welsh poppies just seem to pop up everywhere, don’t they? Last year, one appeared in the crack in the driveway! 😀
Oh that’s odd, I can’t get rid of it from our garden, even when I try (!) – and yes, you have to love the resilience of those poppies!
Thanks for sharing, what has been growing in your garden, most of my flowers have now come into bloom including the roses. I also have tomatoes and beans which are doing well 🙂
The flowers have taken a while, haven’t they? Thanks to a very soggy May and early June 🙂
Your garden looks beautiful! That red poppy stole the show, but I love the roses, too.
Thank you – that poppy is stunner, isn’t she? 🙂