This first week in June is such a busy month for the garden but it is the final push and once all the planting has been done it will be time to relax and enjoy the fruits of the labour.

It is especially busy in the vegetable garden with the last of the tender vegetables ready to be planted out as the danger of frost is now over. We have had such a mild winter this year that the frosts can be counted on the fingers of one hand but even so I only began the planting out of courgettes, tomatoes and sweet corn this month.

Sweet corn did really well in vegetable gardens last year, delighting in the hot summer we had. This is a very satisfying crop to grow, dramatic in looks with tall thick stems rustling in the breeze and delicious cobs to cook and eat straight from the plant. Sweet corn responds to temperature rather than light so there is no point putting it in the garden until the weather gets warm.

The plants are wind germinated and the suggested way of planting the small plants in a square seems to be the best way of growing them. Twelve plants put in three rows of four will give a good crop, each plant will probably produce two good cobs.

Successional sowing can continue this month to prolong the production of vegetables like radish and spinach, beetroot and lettuce. Being relatively new to productive gardening I haven’t yet got to grips with this aspect of the veg patch and still panic sow in May which of course leads to a glut.

The flower beds.

Just as the vegetable garden is filling out so are the flower beds so a few essential tasks need to be done to keep them in order. Climbers need to be continually tied in and early flowering perennials dead headed.

Aquilegias and the earliest hardy geraniums like G.phaeum are likely to have gone over by now. It feels a bit sad to see them finished for another year, they are such a welcome sight in May.

We are lucky to have inherited some really good plants when we bought our garden including swathes of Geranium phaeum in varying shades from darkest purple to pale lilac. The only one missing is that lovely greyish white that looks so good in a shady spot.

Like the geranium, aquilegias will spread themselves about easily from the seeds that fall out of drying seedheads during June. To prevent this happening just keep an eye on the flowers as they fade and cut the stems back to the ground before the seeds ripen. The ferny leaves can be left in place as they are attractive and will clump over the summer before dying back.


Weekend catch up

Whilst out sorting the flowerbeds it is a good idea to cut back pulmonaria by snipping out all the spent flowering stems. new leaves will be appearing at the base of the plant so care needs to be taken not to damage them. If the plant is looking dry give it a good soaking and it will soon produce a lovely fresh crop of leaves. This marbled or spotted foliage will thicken out and look good for the next few months.


Open Gardens

The National Gardens Scheme Festival Weekend.

The NGS are holding their second annual festival weekend today and tomorrow. There are so many gardens this weekend that only the briefest of details can be included. More information in the yellow book or at www.ngs.org.uk

Gardens taking part TODAY are:

Burton Agnes Hall and Gardens, Burton Agnes, YO25 4NB. Award winning gardens with jungle and colour themed gardens, campanula, hardy geranium, clematis and penstemon collections, potager, topiary and a woodland walk. There will be a Gardeners’ fair this weekend. Open 11am-5pm, admission £6.50 adult, £6 seniors, £3.50 child.

Churchside, 41 Station Road, Wressle, YO8 6ES. Four year old cottage garden with a long front garden, rose rope, wooded retreat, summerhouse and Wendy house, vegetables, pond and many herbaceous perennials. Open 1pm-5pm, admission £3.

Hunmanby Grange, Wold Newton, YO25 3HS. Exposed three acre garden with hedges and fences providing shelter for a series of gardens planted for year round interest with seasonal highlights. Wold Top Brewery will also be open and picnics are welcome. Open 11am-5pm, admission £4.

Old Sleningford Hall, Mickley, near Ripon, HG4 3JD. Large English country garden with the original C19 layout which includes a woodland walk and Victorian fernery, walled kitchen garden, herbaceous border and a lake. Picnics welcome. Open 12.30-4.30, admission £5.

Shiptonthorpe Gardens, near Market Weighton, YO43 3PQ. Four gardens open in the village all different with a contemporary and cottage garden, a small garden using vertical height to make a big impression, a traditional garden with mixed and evergreen planting and a cottage garden tucked out of sight. Open 11am-5pm, combined admission £5.

The Yorkshire Arboretum, Castle Howard, York, YO60 7BY. A 120-acre garden of trees from around the world set in a landscape of parkland, lakes and ponds with wild flowers, birds, insects and other wildlife. Open 10am-6pm, admission £6 adult, £3 child 12-16yrs.

Gardens taking part TOMORROW are all the above apart from the Yorkshire Arboretum plus the following,

Clifton Castle, near Ripon, HG4 4AB. Garden with views, river walks, C19 walled kitchen garden, wooded pleasure grounds and wild flower meadow. Open 2pm-5pm, admission £4.

Linden Lodge, Newbridge Lane, near Wilberfoss, YO41 5RB. Owner designed one acre garden started in 2000 with mixed borders, pond, kitchen garden, woodland and a further five acres of developing meadow, trees and Shetland sheep. Open 1pm-5pm, admission £4.

Rudding Park, Follifoot, near Harrogate, HG3 1JH. 20 acres of gardens and lawns with the original parkland designed by Humphrey Repton. There is a collection of azaleas and rhododendrons and modern planting of grasses and perennials designed by Matthew Wilson. Open 12.30pm-5pm, admission £3.50.