The Thorngrove team are loving the seasonal rush of colour, and they’re ready to help you make the most of your garden says Kelsi-Dean Buck

this but the last few weeks have brought some stunning garden weather – it’s been such a joy to wander the courtyard here at Thorngrove in Gillingham. We’ve made a few changes to our displays and the diverse selection of vibrant plants have frequently been stopping me in my tracks. It felt like spring took a little while to arrive this year but May’s been a beautiful month, and now as we move into June, we can finally look ahead to the official arrival of summer!
Our plant of the month for June is the Foxglove – also known as digitalis, a beautiful plant famous for their bell-shaped flowers. Picking yours up from us? Here’s a few care tips!
Digitalis prefers partial shade to full sun. Ideally, it should receive four to six hours of direct sunlight each day. Choose well-draining soil that is rich in organic matter, and keep the soil consistently moist – but not waterlogged. The tall varieties of digitalis may require staking or support to prevent them from bending or toppling over in strong winds. Do keep an eye out for common garden pests such as aphids, slugs, and snails. If you notice any infestations, treat them promptly using appropriate organic or chemical methods

Get the kids gardening
As I write this, it’s National Children’s Gardening Week and we’re running a special competition at Thorngrove to help your little ones get creative in the home and garden (visit our social media for more details), but even if the week is up by the time you read this, it’s still a brilliant time of year to get them interested in gardening!
Try making a butterfly-attracting garden – teach children about pollinators by creating a garden specifically designed to attract butterflies. Plant nectar-rich flowers like lavender, marigolds, and buddleia.
Or how about an upcycled container garden? Encourage children to repurpose items like old buckets, cans, or wooden crates to create unique container gardens.
Perhaps a pizza garden will capture their attention: help them design and plant a pizza-themed garden by choosing various Italian herbs like basil, oregano, and thyme, along with some tomatoes and peppers.
You could also try creating bug hotels, pinecone bird feeders, hedgehog huts and more! We have plenty of plants and garden essentials at Thorngrove (including bird feed!) to help you with these kinds of projects.
Whatever you’re doing this month, we hope you get to enjoy the outdoors, and don’t forget the roses will be blooming!
We look forward to seeing you in the garden centre and café soon.

As summer arrives, the job list is a constant round of tending and tweaking and weeding, says gardener Pete Harcom

At last – we actually have some warmer weather. Thanks to the longer days and some real sunshine, the garden is finally actively growing now … but of course, so are the weeds!

Weeding
Hoe and hand-pick annual weeds when you see them, before they get out of hand.
Keep deadheading (particularly roses) – removing faded blooms will help continue their display.

Planting and cutting back
Plant out summer bedding, including potting up hanging baskets.
Trim back trailing /spreading plants (eg Aubretia), as this will encourage fresh growth.
Pinch out the tips of fuchsias to encourage bushy growth and more flowers.
If planting out newly purchased clematis plants, put a few handfuls of grit in the bottom of the hole. This will help with drainage and reduce waterlogging.
Tie up the stems of sweet peas – the plants are growing fast and a strong gust of wind or heavy downpour can quickly damage these plants. Secure to a support every 10cm with garden twine. Once they start, pick the flowers often to encourage more blooms.

Cuttings
Now is the perfect time to take softwood cuttings of many shrubs, including lavender, fuchsia, forsythia and philadelphus.
Collect healthy shoots from the tips of plants and make 5-10cm long cuttings – slice through the stem below a pair of leaves and remove the lower set of leaves.
Simply push the cuttings into a small pot filled with gritty cutting compost and place in a shady part of the greenhouse or a windowsill propagator until rooted.

Sowing
In the greenhouse, use blinds, shade cloth or apply shade paint on the external side of greenhouse glass to prevent overheating through the summer months. Remember to always open vents and doors on warm days (automatic window openers are a real bonus this time of year).
Start sowing perennials and biennials such as wallflowers, pansies, daisies, bellis perennis and Sweet Williams between May and July, for flowering next spring and summer. Sow in trays, cover with vermiculite and place in an unheated propagator. Plant into their flowering positions in autumn.

Watering and feeding
Keep an eye on your pots – light rain showers do not necessarily reach potted plants properly.
Start to feed fuchsias and petunias in hanging baskets – and any other flowering pot plants – once you notice flower buds forming.
Feed with fertiliser once a week to boost the flowering and continue feeding until the plants run out of steam in early autumn. Don’t worry about purchasing special products – simply use a high potash liquid tomato feed.

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