Ah, the month of June! Lushness has returned to the garden. Seedlings are stepping up their game. And gardeners and flower farmers are thinking about the work that awaits! But it’s all a labor of love. It’s our passion for producing rows of color during the growing season that keeps pulling us back into our gardens and fields.
So, let’s take a look at garden chores that need to be performed in June. Completing these tasks now will make gardening in the coming months more manageable. However, keep in mind that each gardening zone has different requirements as the growing season progresses.
Pruning. Prune and thin all your spring-flowering shrubs after they finish blooming. June is the perfect time for this task, ensuring you’re not cutting away next year’s blooms.
Clearing away foliage. Clear away any yellowing or dried foliage from around your spring bulbs. This will allow more air to flow around your summer plants and help prevent fungal diseases that might develop under debris.
Dividing and transplanting. Once your spring-flowering perennials have completed their blooming season, you can safely divide them and transplant them in other areas of your garden.
Planting new perennials. June is a crucial month for getting perennials planted in the garden and field. This is a task you need to do before the temperature heats up and rainfall decreases. High temperatures and inadequate rainfall stresses plants. This spring, here in Kentucky, we’ve had a fair amount of rain. So, this week we’re getting more perennials in the ground to set root—and we’re seeding perennials for autumn planting.
Weeding and mulching. Weeds germinate and grow easily, so your garden requires daily weeding. You can’t weed an entire garden or field in a single day, so work in sections. Once you’ve weeded one section, cover it immediately with mulch before moving to the next section. Mulch helps prevent the growth of more weeds.
Planting annuals. Depending on your gardening zone, all your annuals should already be in the ground. If not, get them planted in the next few weeks. To have blooms all the way into fall, we’re still seeding here at the farm. However, we’ll soon be turning our attention to autumn-blooming perennials.
The seasons pass quickly. While we’re gardening in one season, we must be looking ahead to the next. With careful thought, planning and hard work, the result will be a garden of continuously blooming, beautiful plants. And that, my garden friend, makes all our work worth it!
Happy Gardening!
Pamela Anthony
Beehind Thyme Farm & Garden