WHAT YOU SHOULD BE DOING IN EARLY JUNE

June sees the risk of frost pass so if you haven't already now is the time to plant out tender bedding plants and annuals for stunning summer displays. June is a busy month in the gardening calendar with fruit, vegetables, containers and baskets needing regular feeding and watering. First crops are ready for harvesting and you need to keep sowing lettuces and other crops to ensure a season-long supply.

• Keep mowing and feeding the lawn to make sure it's looking its best and then sit down, relax and enjoy the fruits of your labour.
• Prune early summer-flowering shrubs like philadelphus once the flowers are over.
• Finish planting out dahlias, cannas and summer bedding.
• Feed acid-loving plants with a special liquid fertiliser containing iron.
• Harvest veg as they become ready and earth up potatoes to ensure a bumper crop. Keep fruit and veg well watered. Spread mulch around beans and other crops to help conserve soil moisture.
• Increase greenhouse shading if temperatures inside are getting very hot  and damp down the greenhouse floor every morning
• Carrots and onions planted in alternate rows are good allies. The carrots help drive away the onion fly and the onions drive off the carrot fly.  Plant the variety of carrots called fly away for extra protection. If it’s a big problem in your garden, I would also recommend in investing in some enviromesh cloche.
• Pinch out cucumber sideshoot tips two leaves beyond a female flower.

Give it a try... Planting up a summer hanging basket.

The first step toward creating a lush, beautiful hanging basket is in choosing your plants. Purchasing healthy plants is essential; I look for plants with several stems, since they will produce prolific growth. Then choose your basket size the larger the basket the more plants you will be able to put in and the more colourful it will be. Make planting a basket easy and remove the chains before you start. It’s handy to stand the basket on a large flowerpot or a bucket for stability while you plant. Line the wire basket with a moss liner or choose another type of liner. It is important to be able to push through the liner or cut it easily so that you can position plants through the sides of the basket and underneath. Half fill the basket with Basket & Container compost and mix in some Slow Release Plant Food (Osmocote) to ensure that your plants have sufficient food for up to 6 months. When using bedding plants gently push the roots through the side of the basket so that the root balls are resting on the top of compost. Lobelia is best we find for side planting. Plant all around the edge of the basket at this level with one layer of plants. Add some more compost and plant another layer of plants through the sides of the basket all the way round. Finally, fill the basket almost to the top with more compost and add another layer of plants. Top up the basket with more compost until it is full. Plant a selection of trailing basket plants around the edge of the basket and a few upright plants in the centre. Firm them in gently and water well. Once your basket has settled the liner or moss will have shrunk to fit your basket, any excess on a liner can be trimmed. Remove spent blooms from your plants two to three times a week to encourage plants to produce a succession of flowers. You can boost plants with a weekly liquid feed.