Enjoying my first cup of tea of the day, whilst looking out into the garden, seems the perfect time to bid farewell to May, thanking her for all the joy she brought us, and warmly welcome June.

June heralds the start of summer. Although this is a rather debatable point. Let’s rephrase that slightly. June heralds the start of summer in the meteorological calendar.

As with all the seasons there are two ways of defining them – meteorological (easier to define) and astronomical (think astronomy and solstices.)

Meteorological summer

The meteorological summer runs for three months – 1st June to 31st August. The other seasons are as follows and this is an easy way to remember and understand the seasons from a weather point of view.

• Spring – March, April, May
• Summer – June, July, August
• Autumn – September, October, November
• Winter – December, January, February

Astronomical summer

The astronomical summer starts around 21st June. This is when many celebrate the start of summer as it’s the summer solstice and the longest day of the year. Although one might argue that if it’s the longest day of the year then it should be the middle of summer. Don’t worry it’s not, this is just a me thing! Did you know that the summer solstice actually marks the point when the sun is at its highest point in the sky. The winter solstice is 21st December which is the exact opposite, being the shortest day.

June – jubilant June!

I hope that May brought you good times. We were quite blessed with the weather in the south of England weren’t we! Half term remained sunny throughout, although many might say it was too hot, with temperatures hitting a whopping 32 degrees. I believe they were the hottest May temperatures in a very long time. It’s worrying how our temperatures are changing isn’t it. Although we often complain about the rain in the UK I think we are very fortunate that we have such a mix of weather conditions. It must be so hard for countries who rarely receive rain, equally for those who have nothing but rain. I enjoyed a birthday, which was different but still enjoyable, this may be why May is my favourite month – along with the fact that the garden really seems to come alive at this time. May feels like an unwritten invitation for the gardens and countryside to put their efforts into a fine show to convince us all that colder days have gone for a while.

I was so excited that our wisteria bloomed beautifully and wove its stunning flowers over the top of the front door, wonderfully framing those entrance with its gorgeous purple hues. I’m quite confident that it will bloom again later in the summer and put on another stunning and finely scented show.

Roses

Is it just me or are the roses all looking absolutely stunning this year? Maybe it’s just that I’ve been looking, or maybe the weather conditions have done us proud. Either way they’re putting on a stunning show. This year in very early spring I was quite tough on cutting back my roses and I can honestly say I think it’s made such a difference. It’s important to cut them back quite harshly as this will improve the shape and give them space to breathe and grow.

Once roses flower try and deadhead them regularly. By doing this you will be encouraging the plant to grow more flowers inside of focusing on the seed or rose hips. A plant will focus its energy on reproducing, which is why it produces flowers (to attract pollinators) and then either fruit or seeds to start the growth process again. Take a look at my video and see how easy it is to deadhead your roses. Just make sure you use a clean cutting tool.

So now it’s 1st June and I wonder what this wonderful month will present us with…

Today my first sweet pea has flowered! 🌸 it’s a pretty pale pink and there are others ready to follow!!

Grow your own

In the raised vegetable beds I’ve got quite a lot going on, with fruit/veg showing, I can see:

• Strawberries
• Broccoli
• Dwarf peas
• Butterhead lettuce

With flowers:

• Lavender
• Broad beans
• Strawberries
• Nepeta (in a pot)
• Marigolds

Still growing:

• Courgettes
• Butternut squash
• Carrots
• Beetroot
• Runner beans
• Leeks
• Spring onions
• French beans

I find it so fascinating to watch things grow and it’s such a fulfilment to eat food that you’ve produced from seed, or a very young plant.

In my little ‘greenhouse’ I’ve got some pepper plants which are growing steadily but taking their time.

I’ve also managed to grow some little dahlias from seed this year, they’re in their early stages but I really hope they’ll produce some beautiful flowers. I have a teeny obsession with dahlias, they’re such perfect blooms and come in so many different colour combinations and shapes!! 🌸

Also do you remember the border I created last month? That’s coming on in leaps and bounds. The nepeta is doing amazingly and looks so pretty in the summer sunshine.

Wildlife in the garden

It’s been lovely to see so many welcome insects in the garden – including bees and butterflies. I love bees, they’re such hardworking little insects and our world actually depends on them. If bees didn’t pollinate our plants, there would be no plants. If there were no plants, we would have no food source so we really need to help these little bee-ings to survive. Please don’t use weed killer or other pesticides, because although unwittingly, if you do and a bee lands on what she thinks is a brightly coloured wildflower, she will die if she comes into contact with poison. Thank you 💚

I saw a very pretty, what I thought was a butterfly yesterday. It was a stunning cobalt blue, certainly not the colour I’ve seen on a butterfly’s wings before. Well it turns out it might be a damsel fly, which looks a bit like a dragonfly. Isn’t nature amazing.

We really should try and take more time to step back and notice and appreciate nature. These tiny little creatures are responsible for our existence if you really think about it.

Have a lovely month! I hope it brings lovely things your way! 🐝🌸🌿

Can I just add that I really love writing so thank you so so much for reading this post. I love that when I’m writing a blog post words and sentences just pop into my head and it’s such a fantastic feeling to know that people will read my thoughts and (hopefully) my posts will educate, entertain or bring enjoyment. Sometimes I feel like words flow better when I’m writing, than when I’m talking, I don’t know why but I’d recommend giving it a go if you’re thinking about it!! 🥰