From the Cut Flower Garden: June Moments
- Kate
- Jul 1
- 5 min read
Updated: Jul 2
June is the month when everything begins to feel like it's coming together — the beds fill out, the flowers stretch taller each day, and the quiet groundwork of spring starts to show its reward. It’s that moment when you realise yes, this is why we do it.
It's also the month of one of my favourite garden shows... Gardener's World Live!
Here’s a little look at what’s been happening in the garden this month — what I’ve been planting, moving, and cutting, and a glimpse of what’s on the to-do list next.
🔄 Bed Flip: Ranunculus Flowers Out, Dahlias In...
June began with a bit of garden musical chairs — the ranunculus had their moment, and now it’s time for the dahlias to take centre stage. I gently lifted the ranunculus, set aside any that might be stored for next year, and tucked in the dahlias in their place. That little shift always feels like a seasonal baton being passed — turning the page to make way for the next chapter in the story.
Because I’m growing in a small space, every bed has to work hard. If it’s not cut-and-come-again, then it has to be flipped for something that is — it's important to make the most of every square foot.
This always feel like such a good job done!
🌸 Planting out my successions of Snapdragons...
A lovely full-circle moment this month: I planted out the succession-sown snaps — at the same time I cut the biggest, most beautiful bunch of them yet. Snapdragons are such workhorses in the cutting patch, bringing height, structure, and the most beautiful array of colours.
Having a succession of these little beauties ready to go into the ground, just helps extend the amount of time I have blooms for. Whilst I'm cutting my Autumn sown, the Spring sown are just finding their feet and starting to bud up!
🐛 Nematodes and Natural Defences
I applied the first round of nematodes this month — a quiet but important job that helps keep things balanced underground. It’s all part of the rhythm of the garden now, and a reminder that tending doesn’t always look dramatic — sometimes it’s just a watering can of invisible helpers. Finding organic ways to try and keep the slug population even slightly in check works for me!
🌿 When Things Don’t Work: Campanula Gate...
Not everything works out where you first place it — and that’s okay. This month I decided to remove the white, low-level campanula from the perennial bed. Beautiful though it was, it distracted from the surrounding planting and it just didn’t feel quite right.
If something doesn’t work, aesthetically or practically, it’s okay to move it. I felt instantly better once I'd taken them out, like the whole bed came alive again!
🌱 Biennial Beginnings
I’ve started sowing biennials now — a little leap of faith into next spring. The biennials I grow are foxgloves, sweet williams, honesty and wallflowers. It always feels a bit surreal sowing next year’s blooms when this year’s are just hitting their stride, but it’s one of those kind, quiet habits that future-you will definitely thank you for!
✂️ Don't Forget Deadheading Flowers
As the garden hits its stride, it's tempting to just sit back and enjoy the show — but one little job that makes a big difference is deadheading. Especially for cut-and-come-again flowers like cosmos, zinnias, and sweetpeas, and anything that will hopefully give you a second flush in the season like Roses, it's so important to keep on top of it. Regular cutting or deadheading stops the plant from thinking its job is done and prevents it from setting seed too early — which means more blooms for your vases.
🌼 Out and About: Gardeners’ World Live
One of the real highlights of this month was a trip to Gardeners’ World Live in Birmingham with one of my lovely flower friends. It’s one of my favourite shows — the atmosphere is always buzzing, and the floral marquee is just something else.
There’s such joy in wandering through rows of stunning plants, discovering varieties you’ve never seen before, and yes — filling the car to bursting with new finds! I came home with a gorgeous dolly tub style metal planter and a bootful of plants I absolutely that I had no space for but couldn’t possibly leave behind.
Beyond the plants, there are always brilliant bargains to be had on planters, supports, garden ornaments, and all sorts of beautiful finishing touches. I also caught a brilliant talk with the amazing Monty Don — and couldn’t believe it when he mentioned that white can sometimes be a tricky colour in certain places in the garden, as it can dim the plants around it. (Campanula-Gate or what?!)
I also finally got to meet one of my lovely Instagram flower friends, Jan, whose “Willow moments and memories” border was part of the Beautiful Borders collection at Gardeners' World Live. The design and planting were breathtaking, but it was the handcrafted willow elements and thoughtful details that truly made it stand out. Seeing how she wove memory, emotion, and natural material into a quiet yet impactful space gave me so many ideas for bringing similar touches into my own garden — the kind of details that make a space feel not just personal, but heartfelt.
Some captures from the BBC Gardener's World Live Show
My favourite bunch from June:
Here’s what’s been putting on a show this month:
Snapdragons – tall, cheerful, and abundant
Sweetpeas – still going strong
Phlox - gorgeous little pops of colour
Verbena Rigida - such a beautiful shorter version of its cousin bonariensis
Foxgloves – gently fading but still bringing the cottage charm
Lythrum - spires of tall striking colour
Salvia White Swan - the most gorgeous white and green filler for bouquets
Statice - such a hard working plant, beautiful fresh or dried
Greek Oregano - flowering its socks of and smells divine!
Malope - first bursts of magenta pink blooms have arrived
Blushing Lanterns - this delicate airy filler is perfect for arrangements
Sanguisorba - this has exploded this year, so tall and willowy
Looking Ahead: July’s To-Do List
Here’s what’s next on my list as we move into the height summer:
Continue sowing biennials — need to make sure I've got all the bits I want sown!
Harvesting — bucketful's of blooms, it’s the best kind of garden job.
Keep garden notes — what’s doing well, what I love (and what I don’t!), how much each plant produces — it’s easy to forget by next year, so jotting it down now is a gift to future me
Regular deadheading and feeding — to keep everything blooming at its best
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Hope to see you there!
What’s been happening in your garden this month? I’d love to hear what’s blooming (or nearly!) in your patch.
Until next time — happy sowing and growing 🌱
— Kate x
