That’s gardening in a nutshell - work followed by enjoyment - so this will be a series of posts listing seasonal work and seasonal beauty. The work itself is enjoyable because afterward you can savor your garden, with its changing blooms and fragrances. And even if you did nothing, nature goes on without you and there would be seasonal things to enjoy. Here are my lists for June.
Work To Do
Check your watering system, adjust to conserve and MULCH everything to conserve water.
Weed and deadhead.
Feed your roses - they're needy in that department.
Stake your dahlias and cage your tomatoes.
Think about fall - you might want to plant some rudbeckia for fall blooms, and you can still set out dahlia plants (but not tubers).
If you planted mum cuttings (as I explained in the post here) you should pinch them back one last time before the Fourth of July and feed them too.
Things To Enjoy
Just about everything, really. Summer annuals are starting to bloom, roses are in their second flush.
If you have a peach tree, they should be ripening,as well as apricots and pluots.
Tomatoes - most are setting fruit at least, and early varieties are ready for harvesting. DItto for zucchini.
Lilies - mine are blooming and the fragrance drifts through the back yard.
Jacarandas - here in San Jose, they're in bloom and add a beautiful lilac color to our neighborhoods and skyline.
Shasta daisies - these are easy to grow, even from seed, and they keep coming back for many years.
Hollyhocks - very old-fashioned but lovely against the morning sky.
Cosmos, snapdragons - these are flower machines, cranking out blooms now.
Dahlias - they're just starting by the end of this month, at least here in San Jose.
Clockwise from top left: Apples are ripening in my garden this month; lots of snapdragons, ready for my bouquet making work; jacaranda tree; cosmos and tanacetum from my garden.