This month focus on maintaining your garden, encouraging further blooms and preparing for harvesting. Divide congested clumps of bearded iris after flowering. Dead head bedding plants, sweet peas, roses and herbaceous plants to encourage more flowers. Trim evergreen hedges, including conifers, (but still just check for nesting birds first). Feed dahlias and cannas every two weeks with a high potassium fertilizer, such as tomato feed.
Prune early-summer flowering shrubs, such as Philadelphus, once they have finished flowering. Cut back flowered growth to a strong lower shoot and thin out up to a fifth of old, woody stems.
Cut back hardy geraniums to ground level after they have had their first flush of flowers to encourage new foliage and more flowers later in the year. Fruit trees and bushes need a lot of extra water to support developing fruit. Pinch out climbing beans when they reach the top of their supports. Water courgettes consistently so they continue to crop well. Keep tomatoes well watered to prevent blossom end rot.
Regularly check for pests like aphids, spider mites and caterpillars. Consider using eco-friendly methods, and introducing beneficial insects like ladybirds. Keep bird baths topped up.
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