Bulbs and Herbaceous Plants
Dead-head bedding plants and repeat-flowering perennials, to ensure continuous flowering. Prop up tall perennials such as lupins. Liquid feed containerised plants and keep well watered in dry spells.
Cutting back plants in baskets followed by feeding can encourage new growth and help revive tired displays. Mulching borders can help retain moisture, and keep down the weeds - this will save a lot of work. Disbud and dead-head dahlias if growing for large blooms.
Leave roses that produce attractive hips. Divide clumps of bearded iris. Plants with a carpet-like growth habit, e.g. some alpines, can become patchy, with central areas dying off. These patches can be in-filled with gritty compost, to encourage re-growth.
On the Lawn
Give the lawn a quick-acting summer feed, especially if a spring feed was not done. Water if weather is dry keep mowing regularly, except during drought.
New areas of grass, sown or turfed in the spring, will need extra watering to keep them going through their first summer. Raise the cutting height slightly as the month progresses, to help the grass better resist the wear it suffers in summer.
In the Vegetable and Fruit Garden
Fruit picking can begin in earnest, with strawberries, cherries, summer-fruiting raspberries, currants and the earliest of the plums. Leaves that are shading grape bunches can be removed, to speed ripening of the clusters.
Thin apples after the June drop if still overcrowded. Remove blemished and 'king' (i.e. central) fruits from the clusters first. Branches still heavily laden after thinning can be supported with a V-shaped stake. When summer-fruiting raspberries have finished cropping promptly cut out the old canes. Mulching will help them retain water.
Continue to peg down strawberry runners if new plants are needed. Continue to tie in and train new blackberry canes. Keep new canes separate from older, fruiting canes to ease later pruning. Cut back side-shoots on gooseberries to four or five leaves, or just beyond the fruit clusters. Red and white currants may be pruned in the same way.
There are lots to harvest in the vegetable patch, including spinach, peas, beets, carrots, salads, potatoes and globe artichokes; shallots and spring-planted garlic may be ready as well. This will aid healthy development, and help to avoid diseases, disorders and bolting.
The Shrub Border
Tie-in climbers and ramblers as they grow. Prune deciduous magnolias if necessary. Prune June-flowering shrubs such as Philadelphus and Weigela after flowering. Ensure newly planted trees and shrubs do not dry out. They often need much more water than people imagine.
Take semi-ripe cuttings of shrubs such as Choisya, Hydrangea and Philadelphus. Root them in pots of gritty compost in a cold frame or even with a plastic bag tied over them.
In the Glasshouse and Conservatory
Water plants regularly and keep a check for unwanted insects. Water houseplants freely, and feed as necessary (often weekly or fortnightly). Water plants in early morning or late evening to avoid the risk of leaf scorch on hot days. Damp down greenhouses on hot days.
Cuttings can be taken and grown on in the glasshouse. Carry on pricking out any seedlings sown earlier in the season. Young plants, already pricked out, may be ready for transplanting to larger pots.
Ponds
Clear algae, blanket weeds and debris from ponds, and keep them topped up. Any pumps on water features should be left on during sultry nights, as oxygen levels are lower in such conditions. Remove dead foliage and blooms from waterlilies and other aquatic plants. Cover ponds, or use safety grills, in gardens where young children play.
Flower border/Patio area
Place conservatory plants outside now that it is warm.
Water tubs and new plants if dry, but be water-wise, use recycled water.
Dead-head bedding plants and repeat-flowering perennials, to ensure continuous flowering. Check plants for unwanted insects.
Recycling
Paper, Cardboard, Glass Bottles and Jars, Plastic. Compost all green waste including vegetable peelings and left-overs. Turn and moisten compost bin regularly. Use recycled products/materials where possible.
Collect rainwater and investigate ways to recycle water for irrigation.
Be water wise, especially in during long dry spells.
Others
Order catalogues for next year’s spring bulbs.
Give woodwork a lick of paint or preserver, while the weather is dry.