Visions BV, Netherlands©Nothing puts a smile on people’s faces more than a well-stocked flower garden, filled with thriving blooms and June is a great time to fully appreciate this abundance. Read on for tips on how make your garden flourish and which flowers are perfect to arrange in a vase at home.
Summer is one of the most gratifying seasons for gardeners who enjoy planting flowers. It’s when gardens are coming into full bloom with shrubs, perennials and bulbs at full throttle and an abundance of pollinators or wildlife popping in to check out what is available.
What’s more, these beautiful flowering plants can be brought into your homes by cutting them and creating stylish flower arrangements. An ideal way of bringing the garden indoors and cheering up a dinner table, hallway or sitting room. Not only does this save a pretty penny, it also allows you to grow your favourites, experiment with different colours and styles and even grow for a wedding, fete or other celebration.
Here are simple and practical tips on how you can start your very own June flower garden.
Tips to plant a delightful June flower garden:
- If you have the luxury of space, then why not set aside an area in your garden just for growing cut flowers? This avoids depleting precious borders and allows you to have a planned, productive area to grow for vases and bouquets.
- Most cut flowers need plenty of sunshine so check the planting site and choose varieties according to light levels. For taller flowers, such as delphiniums and foxgloves, sturdy supports may be needed and, where possible, avoid windy sites or frost pockets.
- We suggest planting in rows at the recommended spacing for each plant – it will make both weeding and picking easier. Plants that are too close together can become tangled which may damage them as you try to cut the stems.
- When it comes to watering, it’s best to do so first thing in the morning or in the evening. Although, of course, if your plants are starting to wilt, give them a drink – preferably at the base of the plant and not onto the foliage.
- Some plants are ‘hungrier’ than others and it is always beneficial to apply organic matter every year. This not only improves the soil structure, it will help to retain moisture and encourage production of bigger, better and more bountiful blooms.
When choosing what to plant in your garden, there are hundreds of varieties available and personal taste, alongside garden conditions often dictate choices.
Many of these plants are perfect for cutting and arranging in a vase – look for the scissor symbol on the website of Hayloft, a successful mail order company specialising in hand-selected plants and top-quality gardening essentials.
Some also lend fragrance – a perfume symbol is frequently used on Hayloft’s website here – or unusual form and enticing colour. All of these features combine to bring a very personal enchantment to your garden.
Use the code PFDN on Hayloft’s website to get a 15% discount on your purchase.
Here are just ten June bloomers to get you started:
1. Peruvian Lilies (Alstroemeria ‘Summer Breeze’)
Native to South America, this hardy perennial requires little maintenance and blooms from June to early winter. Pick stems by pulling from the base of the plant as this encourages a ‘wound’ to form which stimulates the plant to produce more flowers.
2. Bearded Iris (Iris germanica ‘World Premier’)
This tall flower just soaks up the sun and loves its rhizomes to be baked each year for the promotion of more and more flowers each season. It blooms abundantly in May and June with glaucous leaves remaining as interest until October.
3. Hydrangea paniculata ‘Early Harry ‘
This delicate-looking, yet hardy shrub will happily bloom whether it’s planted in the ground or in a large pot. All it needs is a steady stream of water and the occasional feed to keep it flowering until September. Stems are vibrant red, perfectly co-ordinating with the blushing pink blooms.
4. Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Zorro’
No apologies for choosing another hydrangea here. This one holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit and has dark purple stems to complement the cool, bicoloured blooms. A great way to attract admiring glances as well as pollinators and other wildlife.
5. Dahlia ‘Bishop of York’
Almost black foliage which lends a striking contrast to the golden flowers. This plant will grow an abundance of exuberant flowers and may well commence flowering towards the end of June, continuing right through to October. Ideal for growing in containers due to its need for protection over winter.
6. Rose ‘Timeless Cream’
Scented splendour with a depth and intensity second to none. These long-lasting blooms are drought tolerant, easy to maintain and beautiful in bud or in full flower. A repeat flowering rose – that’s more blooms for longer, either in the garden or in the vase.
7. Plush Paeonia Collection
A trio of award-winning blooms which are just perfect for a vase and will beautifully perfume your home. Flowers can be heavy so plants may need some additional support put in place for the foliage and stems to grow through.
8. Dianthus ‘Sugar Plum’
A special type of carnation, which is one of the oldest flowers in cultivation. Its name ‘Dianthus’ comes from Greece and means ‘flower of the gods’. These beautifully marked petals with their instantly recognisable sweet, spicy scent are surely heaven sent.
9. Buddleja davidii ‘Butterfly Candy Little Purple’
This perennial may be petite when it comes to height, but it packs a punch with its gorgeous colour and rich fragrance. An ideal hardy, perennial shrub for those of you with smaller gardens, courtyards and balconies who want to enjoy blooms inside and out, along with beautiful visiting butterflies.
10. Salvia saggitata ‘Blue Butterflies’
An aromatic, enduring half-hardy perennial with exceptional cobalt blue blooms which last through into autumn. A vibrant and vivacious inclusion in a vase too.
Pick up these rare, unusual and exciting flowers from Hayloft. Plants and accessories will be delivered directly to your doorstep, taking the hassle of getting them home.
Visit Hayloft’s website or call 01386 562 999. Don’t forget to use the code PFDN to get a 15% discount on your purchase.
Some The People’s Friend online content is funded by outside parties. The revenue from this helps to sustain our independent magazine. You will always know if you are reading paid-for material as it will be labelled on the site (at the top of the article: By Company Name) and on social media channels. This content has been paid for and produced in partnership with Hayloft.
