This last week has seen the first week of summer and many gardeners both beginners and experienced have gone outdoors to start checking off their tasks sheet for early summer.

I find, personally, that it is better to look at a garden in small bursts.  Sure there are many things that I will need to do throughout the summer when it comes to keeping my garden healthy and eventually getting ready to bed it down for the winter but when there are only a few jobs to do at each period of time, the amount of work put into a garden seems almost insignificant to the amount of enjoyment you get out of it.

So here is a list of a few garden tasks that you should do in early summer:

The Flower Garden:

• Place supports in the garden for any perennials that need it.
• Fertilize the plants
• Remove all the deadheads from the plants
• Water regularly
• Prune any plants that need to be pruned.  Most will only need to be pruned after flowering, depending on the plant.
• Deal with any pests if they are present in the garden.
• With any shrubs and perennials, you can take softwood cuttings.
• Thin out the annuals
• Weed the beds.

The Vegetable Garden

This depends on what plants you have in your garden.

• Weed the garden.
• Thin out any plants that need to be.
• Provide supports for plants that require them such as beans, and tomatoes.
• fertilize the vegetable garden.
• Place up screens to protect vegetables from pests.
• Water regularly
• Sow any plants that require sowing

And these are just a few jobs to make summer gardening a little easier and you will find that you spend more time enjoying your garden then struggling to keep up with its care.

Sirena Van Schaik

Tags: cuttings, early summer gardening tasks, fertilizing, flower gardens, Gardening, summer tasks, Vegetable Gardens

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