Gardening expert reveals 10 jobs you should do in June to get a perfect garden

A gardening expert has revealed the 10 jobs that will ensure your garden flourishes this summer, including how to keep pesky insects at bay.

Star gardener Ade Sellars from Country Living recommends planting flowers and fruit, and has a clever hack to avoid gaps forming on your borders.

This often occurs during Spring as many flowers come and go resulting in borders appearing less defined.

Sellars says sunflowers that can be sown straight into the soil are a great remedy for fast growing plants, as are bright dahlias which will grow now that the frosts have passed.

But the welcome rise in temperatures also heightens the risk of insects wreaking havoc for your plants.

These include lily beetles, which are important to be aware of if you have sunflowers. Check carefully under leaves so you can catch them before they cause any damage.

You may also encounter red mites, which are likely to be congregating in your greenhouse. But you discourage them from gathering by ensuring the space if kept well ventilated.

The increased heat will also encourage weeds, which you’ll need to get rid of if have a pond with fish in it.

It may also be a good time to think about hardening off your Summer bedding plants. This is the process of acclimatising them to growing outside.

They can be moved to pots or containers if you’re short on space in your flowerbed, but Sellers urges gardeners to ensure containers don’t dry out “by establishing a regular watering and feeding regime.”

June will also be the best time to take cuttings from the tips of your shrubs, such as fuchsia, or lavender.

For 10cm cuttings, Sellers recommends making a sharp horizontal cut beneath the leaves, then removing lower leaves and buds.

You should then put the cuttings in a pot with compost, with the cuttings placed in parallel to side of the pot, and spaced evenly. taking care to space them evenly.

This should then be put in your greenhouse if you have one, or sat upon a warm windowsill, and be watered regularly.

After lavender flowers, the cuttings can be moved indoors they’ve been gathered and tied up, and can imbue your house with fresh and refreshing scent.

Tomato crop growers should look to pinch out the tree’s side-shoots, and ensure it is sat securely with any cordon tomatoes tied up, he said.

The month ahead is the moment to rinse tomatoes with a weekly potash which will help encourage the plant produce fruit. This process can also be applied to peppers, chilli plants, and aubergine.

Roses and similar flowers will need plenty of water in June, and so a robust feeding regime is key.

Meanwhile, lawns should be mownweekly and given a trim where necessary. Watering it when temperatures are lower will allow the water to evaporate and keep it fit for sunny picnics.