Garden Update - Six things I'm doing in my garden in June

I'm linking up with The Propagator again to share what's going on in the garden right now. Heavy rain has been followed by really hot sun here in Cardiff in the last fortnight so things are really growing well. I've been enjoying the poppies but at this time of year things in the garden tend to move fairly quickly, and they have already been surpassed by the roses. There's plenty to do. Here's what's been keeping me busy...

 

Freshly clipped box hedges

I've clipped all the little bits of box around the garden. I love box, it sets everything off so well. It's best to check the weather forecast and clip it during a dry spell to reduce the chances of blight taking hold. Waiting until early June prevents the young shoots and cut leaves being affected by frost.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The rose walk in June

June is all about roses. Mine are in full bloom now, making the arches and arbour look amazing. I've already been dead heading the spent flowers, so that they keep flowering for as long as possible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Strawberries - with added straw!

 

 

Up on the allotment, I have now completely netted the strawberries, and given them a nice comfy bed of straw to sit on. This helps protect the growing fruits from getting wet and dirty on the soil, and hopefully will discourage slugs too. They are starting to colour up now so we should be picking them soon.

 

 

 

 

 

A nascent bunch of grapes

Another crop doing well this year is the grapevine, which covers a pergola above the garden path. I must have got the pruning right this year, because it is absolutely covered in developing bunches of tiny grapes. Too many though and they will stay very small. Better to have fewer good size grapes than loads of small ones, so it's been time to thin them out. Initially I just made sure there was no more than one bunch left on each individual branch. Later I will thin them further to make sure they can get as big as possible. 

 

Peas ready to pick

It will a long time before we can harvest any grapes but we are already picking the mangetout peas, both from the allotment, and from the containers outside the back door. They can be eaten straight off the plant, as fresh as anything you can ever eat. I filled a punnet with them this week and put them in front of my two boys, who are not known for their healthy choice of snacks, but the mangetout were devoured in minutes!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cistus dansereaui "Decumbens"

Finally, the latest plant to start flowering in the garden is the cistus, a sign that summer has arrived. 

 

What do you have in your garden that tells you summer is definitely here? Please send me your suggestions in the comments box below, and click on the share icons so others can do the same.