This Month in My Garden - June

The wonderful weather the last week makes me sad to see May go - but the thought of fresh strawberries and new peas make me eager for June! The abundant sunshine and adequate rain have made our garden prosper! You can almost see it grow! This past weekend, we were able to finish up the planting and have the garden almost completely mulched!

I say "we" but I really should be saying "him". Ed is the real muscle behind any success in our garden! I don't even know how to operate our tiller, or our lawn mower, for that matter! The vegetable garden looks far better then our flower beds, which are under my care and have been rather neglected this spring. So I really can't take any credit for the success of our garden! Well, I guess none of us can! God is really the one who creates all this beauty!

June is the maintenance month. Think of it as garden grooming, like brushing teeth and combing hair. We'll be enjoying a few fruits of our labors with strawberries and peas, but the real harvest is yet to come.

Here is a few of my plans and tasks for this month in my garden.

1. Prune spring flowering shrubs after blooming.
2. Pinch back mums to keep them bushy. Stop in mid-July to allow formation of buds.
3. Plant sweet potatoes in early June.
4. When peas are over, replace with late potatoes or another planting of beans or corn.
5. Spray pines for bag worms. According to the tree care expert at Treemovers, now is when they will be emerging. You can read more about it here.
6. Inventory seeds for fall garden. Seed displays will soon be taken down at garden centers and will be impossible to find in July or August.
7. Weed, prune, dead head flowers - a little upkeep will keep the garden looking it's best.
8. Mulch - the busy (or lazy) gardener's best friend. We cover our garden with grass clippings and eliminate most weeding the rest of the summer!
9. Enjoy the strawberries and peas!