Getting Your Garden Ready for Summer

With summer just around the corner, you might want to start thinking about making some small changes to adapt your outdoor space for the warmer months ahead. Whether you're looking for garden decor to bring your al-fresco dining up a notch or want to find out how to cultivate the most colourful summer blooms, we've got a few ideas to get you started.

Flowers that Bloom in June

June is a great time to sow seeds and plant young plants. If you want to add some colour and life to your garden, consider sowing some of these plants for plenty of colourful June flowers.

Oriental poppies

These truly eye-catching perennial plants are great as they come in a wide range of colours in shades of red, orange, white and pink. Surround them with penstemons or cosmos to create a beautiful selection of cool and warm coloured flowers.

Magnolias or Magnolia stellata

These beautiful tulip or star-like flowers range from pure white to pink, to deep magenta or even yellow. They vary in size from small shrubs to large trees and usually do best in autumn or late spring in fertile, well-drained neutral to acidic soil. If you don’t have the right type of soil or space for a large tree, the smaller magnolias also grow well in pots.

Water lilies

Hardy water lilies come in shades of pink, red, yellow, pastel orange and white. They are best planted from mid to late spring and mid-summer, and prefer calm, still water in aquatic compost. Just like oriental poppies, water lilies are perennial which means they live for many years. They are great for adding life to your garden and turning your pond into a picturesque masterpiece.

Roses

Of course we could’t forget roses! These beautiful scented flowers are best planted in the spring as they start blooming in late May and often considered to be in full bloom in June - hence why the rose is known as the birth flower for the month of June! Their colour palette ranges from white to yellow, pink, purple, orange, and of course red.

Top tip: Consider using some of Norfolk Natural Living’s Flower Booster to keep your flowers happy and healthy.

Fruits and Vegetables to Plant in May

Even though the weather in May can still be quite chilly at times, by late May and early June the risk of frost has usually passed in most regions of the UK, which means it is safe to plant more tender vegetables such as: Tomatoes, courgettes, cucumbers, pumpkins, squash, sweetcorn, sprouting broccoli, cauliflowers and French beans.

More recommendations of what you can plant in May: Beetroot, rocket, carrots, coriander, basil and runner beans.

Consider Investing in Some Outdoor Furniture

Now that the days are getting longer and warmer, you will probably want to spend more time in your garden. You might want to consider investing in some outdoor furniture such as comfortable chairs, benches, sofa seats, sun loungers, tables, outdoor cooking sets and barbecues, or even a few bits for the kids such as a swing set, trampoline, or an inflatable pool before they run out!

Decorating Your Garden

You can decorate your garden with some colourful cushions and blankets for chilly evenings, outdoor rugs, garden statues, ornaments, artificial plants, fairy lights and bird and insect houses.

Top tip: Adding mirrors to your garden can make a small outdoor space appear more extensive.

Gardening inspiration - Chelsea Flower Show

For some gardening inspiration, you can head to the Chelsea Flower Show that is on from 8 am - 8 pm this year from 24th - 28th May at the Royal Hospital Chelsea.

Visit RHS.org for tickets and more information.