Garden Blog - June 2024

Towards the end of an illustrious career, in 1895, Frederic Leighton produced a work of art that would become the most famous and celebrated of his career. In it, a beautiful slumbering woman is lulled by a gentle Mediterranean breeze, her red hair and intense orange robe conveying a palpable sense of summer heat. Given the immediate and ongoing popularity of this iconic piece, it’s no wonder the phrase ‘flaming June’, soon took off to describe such summery conditions.Right now, however, flaming June seems to be in hibernation, following on from the particularly wet autumn, winter, and spring, that have just passed. 

That said, June marks the beginning of meteorological summer, and despite everything, our gardens here at Deene Park are looking glorious. With shrub, climber, and rambler roses, in full headily scented bloom right now, it just goes to show how important and valuable the rose pruning routine of last winter is to this year’s floral display. Complimenting the roses, herbaceous perennials and early summer flowering bulbs are in full flow, with masses of geraniums, foxgloves, alliums, and a host of others, vying for our attention.

With the herbaceous perennials in our borders having filled out nicely now, and the intense sky-blue flowered, self-sown forget-me-nots, having passed their floral best, it’s time to pull them up and transport them to the compost heap. By now, they will already have begun to set seed, so giving the plants a good shake as they are grubbed out, to release those seeds and ensure a fresh crop of new forget-me-nots to flower next spring.

Once we have dealt with the forget-me-nots, it’s time to make a start on clipping the box hedges of our Parterre. As you can imagine, given the extent of the Parterre, the task of clipping them is quite monumental, but essential to maintaining this most formal part of the gardens. There is no rest for the poor gardeners at this time of year, as no sooner are the box hedges finished, we move on to clipping the tall hornbeam hedges that bound the Parterre, the hawthorn lollipops, and yew teapots. Much like rose pruning during the winter, clipping the multitude of evergreen features of the Parterre, although time consuming, is ultimately well worth the effort involved.

We have now finished replacing our seasonal displays of pots, urns, and bedding from their winter to summer garb, and over the coming weeks, these displays will fill out nicely and punctuate our otherwise traditional English country garden with a thoroughly exotic feel.

Another exotic looking beauty, though this time one hardy enough to live its whole life outdoors is Argyrocytisus battandieri, known more commonly as Pineapple broom, or Moroccan broom. Native to the Rif and Middle Atlas mountains of Morocco, this large shrub does particularly well when grown in full sun. Its bright, golden yellow, pea-like flowers, are held in dense cones through June and July, giving off a delicious pineapple scent which is popular with bees, butterflies, and other pollinating insects. Its foliage, that is a silken grey-green, provides a wonderful silvery foil for plants around it.

Finally, having done a canter through the gardening month, we should all, including us gardeners, occasionally just step back from the tasks involved in keeping our charges in order, and take a relaxing look around at the beauty that surrounds us.

Until next month, happy gardening.

Flaming June by Frederic Leighton	Foxgloves and Roses	Geranium Magnificum	Alliums	Argyrocytisus battandieri