Top Five Gardening Jobs:
1. Now’s the perfect time to add nasturtiums to your vegetable beds. Not only do they brighten up the space with cheerful blooms, but they also act as a companion plant, drawing aphids away from brassicas and other crops, and attracting pollinators.
2. If you’ve got a container pond or water feature, top it up regularly during warm spells. Evaporation speeds up in June, and keeping water levels stable ensures plants and aquatic wildlife stay healthy. Rainwater is best, but tap water is fine too.
3. Get Brussels sprouts planted out this month for your last chance to harvest in autumn and winter. Choose a firm, sunny spot with fertile soil, and plant them deeply to encourage strong root systems. Keep them well-watered while they establish.
4. It’s also time to transplant leeks. Once they’re pencil-thick, lift and replant them into holes around 15cm deep. Water them in well, but don’t fill the holes with soil, just let rain and watering settle it
in gradually.
5. In apple trees, June is when nature performs thinning. But if fruits are congested, thin them manually so the remaining ones can grow larger and healthier. Aim for one fruit per cluster. Learn more about June drop at my YouTube channel, @daviddomoney.
Fragrance in gardens
Fragrance is one of the most captivating features of a garden. Whether it rises from roses in full bloom or drifts from aromatic herbs in the sun, scent transforms outdoor spaces into soothing sanctuaries that awaken the senses. With Rose Awareness Week beginning on Monday, and Father’s Day tomorrow, consider a fragrant plant for green-fingered dads. It’s a thoughtful gift adding beauty, scent and pollinator appeal to the garden.
Fragrant flowers
June is a standout month for scented flowers. Roses take centre stage, with varieties like ‘Desdemona’, ‘Fragrant Cloud’, and ‘Twice in a Blue Moon’ offering exceptional fragrance and flowering displays. Choose plants in bloom so you can assess their scent before buying. For something with structure and subtle scent, Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’ produces spires of deep violet flowers on dark stems throughout June. Lightly aromatic foliage adds another sensory layer, and it’s a magnet for bees and butterflies. Matthiola longipetala (Night-scented stock) is a lovely choice for seating areas. While unassuming by day, its blooms release waves of perfume at dusk. Perfect for evening entertaining.
Aromatic foliage
Herbs are thriving now and offer fragrance every time you pass them. Rosemary, sage and oregano bring both beauty and culinary potential, while lemon thyme and the many mint varieties add a playful burst of scent. Perovskia ‘Blue Spire’ (Russian sage) is just beginning to bloom with silvery, aromatic foliage that thrives in sunny spots. Choisya ternata (Mexican orange blossom) often gives a second flush of citrus-scented flowers in June, and its glossy leaves release fragrance when they are touched.
Scented climbers
Climbers help drape scent overhead and around seating areas. Lonicera periclymenum (honeysuckle) is in full swing now, filling the air with classic summer perfume. Plant early and late-flowering varieties together for scent that lasts through the season. Jasminum officinale also begins blooming this month with starry white flowers and a sweet, exotic scent. For something a little more unusual, Cytisus battandieri (pineapple broom) produces yellow blooms with a surprising tropical twist; its flowers smell just like fresh pineapple, but they’re not safe to eat.
Get the family involved
Fragrant plants are a brilliant way to engage children in the garden. Lemon verbena smells like lemon sherbet, and Chocolate cosmos is beginning to flower now too, with deep red petals that smell just like cocoa. Fragrance brings another layer of joy to the garden; beautiful, beneficial, and bursting with life.So whether you’re planting for pleasure or choosing a scented gift, June is the month you can finally let your garden breathe.
Few shrubs bring such pure, classic beauty to the garden as mock orange (Philadelphus). With its arching stems and profusion of white, citrus-scented blooms, it adds romantic charm and structure.
The flowers appear in clusters, releasing a perfume often compared to orange blossom. This heady fragrance fills the air making it a favourite near paths and patios, and bees and butterflies flock to it.
Mock orange thrives in full sun or light shade and prefers fertile, well-drained soil. In June, established plants are in full flower, so enjoy the display. As blooms fade, prune back flowering stems for strong growth.
Water well during dry spells, particularly if recently planted, and mulch around the base to retain moisture and suppress weeds. Try Philadelphus ‘Belle Etoile’ for maroon-centred blooms, or Philadelphus ‘Virginal’ for double flowers. Philadelphus ‘Snowbelle’ is a more compact choice for smaller spaces.
Fun fact: Despite its citrusy aroma, mock orange isn’t related to citrus but it earned its name because its scent is so convincing.
In ancient Rome, lavender was so highly valued that a pound of it could sell for 100 denarii. To put that in context, that was the equivalent price of around 50 haircuts at the time.
Chilli peppers were once traded as currency in parts of South and Central America. They were prized for flavour, preservation and medicinal uses, and frequently exchanged in local markets as a valuable commodity.
Trees have also developed defence systems.
Many species produce waxy leaf coatings and antioxidant pigments to guard against ultraviolet rays. These adaptations help limit sun damage and keep photosynthesis functioning well during bright days.
Pomegranates have long held mythical importance. In Greek mythology, they were known as the fruit of the dead as Persephone was bound to the underworld after eating their seeds. Yet they also symbolised fertility and rebirth, thanks to their abundance of seeds and rich colour.
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