June heralds in our PNW summer, as temperatures continue on the upward swing and we enjoy much longer daylight hours. Plants are bursting forth in growth. As the rains taper off, enjoy the lushness of the garden before the summer dry really hits.
garden Borders and beyond
This is the month when alliums, peonies, lavender, iris, heucheras, clematis and roses are starting to bloom in earnest. As blooms fade on perennials such as nepeta and hardy geraniums such as Johnson's Blue, they can be cut down to two or three inches. Give them a little liquid feed, and new growth will soon flush out, and you may get a rebloom in late summer. This is a good month to take softwood cutting from shrubs, including lavender and hydrangeas, if you wish to multiply your stock of plants for free. This is also a good time to prune your spring flowering shrubs for shape and size control. By June, any bare branches of deciduous shrubs and trees are likely to be dead, and can be pruned (a few exceptions include Asian persimmons and even fig trees, which take longer to leaf out). Do a scratch test along the stem or branch - if it is no longer green you can chalk that up as dead and prune it off.
in the vegetable patch
It's time for warm weather vegetables
Warm weather crops such as beans, summer squash, amaranth greens, and basil can still be sown from seed. In late June, start planning for your fall/winter vegetable garden. As soon as space becomes available, you can sow carrots, radicchio, endive, turnips and beets. You can start brassicas and lettuces from seed to plant out in July or August to harvest in the fall and winter. Lettuces may benefit from some shade to prevent them from going to seed. Stake your tomatoes if you haven't got around to it, before the plants sprawl all over the bed. Keep the foliage dry when you water, to prevent disease.
Keep up with the weeds, cover your brassicas with a mesh to prevent cabbage whites from decimating your crops. Water your vegetables deeply once or twice a week depending on your soil.
For a detailed planting calendar, please refer to:
- Seattle Tilth's "The Maritime Northwest Garden Guide" book
- Oregon Tilth planting calendar
- Oregon extension service 's monthly calendar
- Washington State University extension service's information