Gardening jobs...June

What a month May was with record hours of sunshine and thermometer topping temperatures. After the cold weather and devastating snow earlier in the year many parts of the garden have now caught up. While the start of June may not have been as flaming as some will have hoped for the cooler temperatures will help your flowers last even longer.

Plant out - Unless you live in the very far north of the UK the risk of frost should have passed by now. Plant out any tender summer bedding plants and fruit and vegetable plants such as courgettes, squash, tomatoes and sweetcorn.

Greenhouse watch – On sunny and hot days your greenhouse could be more akin to a furnace than a hothouse. Open up vents, windows and doors during day. Keep an eye on plants and seedlings in the greenhouse and water regularly if required.

Net it – If you have fruit trees and bushes you want to benefit from stop them from becoming bird food by covering in netting.

Turn it – The warmer weather will speed up the breaking down of the compost heap. Keep it aerated by turning regularly. This will also help stop getting too slimly.

Feed it – Tomatoes will benefit from a fertiliser feed every 10-14 days. Once the fruit starts to set then switch to a high potash feed.

Store bulbs – Dig up spring bulbs such as tulips and narcissus that have now finished. They can be stored by replanting them in a container or another patch away from your main borders. I always like to give them a water with tomato feed once the leaves die down naturally as it seems to help top the bulbs from going blind the next year and boosts growth.

Tie in roses – Climbing and rambling varieties of roses will be making a great display in the coming weeks but they may look untidy by now. Tie in new shoots but look out for those thorns!