I’ve been learning that June is an important month for Med Garden maintenance.
I am preparing a full garden manicure for the ultimate enjoyment of my Med Garden with my summer guests - and preparing all of my plant babies for the heat of summer.
I want my lavender, roses, ornamental sage, blue plumbago, yellow bells and bougainvillea in full bloom all summer long - Plus, a constant production of fresh fruits and veg from my new food forests!
In this blog I share My List of 5 Essentials that I have been learning about the importance of Med Garden maintenance in June.
5 Essentials for June Med Garden Maintenance
Applying my learnings from my previous summers in the Med (Read my previous blog: Masting Your Mediterranean Garden - and 5 Mistakes to Avoid!) - I am ready to defy the dry, dusty, and absence of abundant flower blooms in summer experienced previously.
In my blog 2024 Dream Garden Planning, I shared my garden goals for this year - and I am very proud to say that I have followed through with many of my plans with spring planting: Cactus wall garden, yellow bells and blue plumbago for my driveway entrance,
more summer/fall bloomers such as bougainvillea and oleander, and my mini food forests!
I really don’t want to see them wilt (or worse!) in the heat of the Med summer! So I’m picking up my tools and getting to work in June, to reap the benefits in July and August :)
#1. Pruning
To increase summer blooms, and prevent pests that come with the hot weather, June is the month to thin out bougainvillea and oleander, and cut back lavender that has already bloomed.
Bougainvillea does best when its clumps of gorgeous flowers don’t get too dense, and air can pass through. Pests will breed in dense clumps of flowers as well. After thinning out your bougies you can spray them with a solution of dish soap, vinegar and baking soda (see Spraying below) to prevent pests that love the heat.
Oleander is in full bloom now, and will continue to produce fresh blooms all summer long with a little pruning in June. Oleander likes to get sunlight at its base - and density can bring heat-loving pests (like bougainvillea). Pruning away leafy branches from the base (to about half way up the height) and thinning out leafy branches at the top for air to pass through, will allow new shoots to burst with colour all summer and fall. Oleander is usually the first in the Med Garden to attract pests, so it pays to check regularly and spray regularly (see Spraying below).
Lavender: We have been enjoying our early blooming lavender varieties all spring. They are now starting to brown, and late blooming lavender is taking over the spotlight. June is the time to cut browning lavender blooms to bring into the house to dry out while gracing bedrooms with their long lasting scent - which is also a mosquito repellent! Some varieties of lavender will bloom again after they have been cut with light but consistent watering.
#2. Weeding
Weeding in our Mediterranean climate dry season, May-October, is not too heavy a lift if you keep up with it. I bring in my friendly gardener for heavy weeding in late fall and early spring after the rains. But in the dry season I try to keep up with it myself.
As I learned last December (Read my Blog: December Winter Garden To-Do List) a weed wacker helps tremendously for a clean sweep of my driveway, stone terraces and walking paths. I also use it to keep my flowering plants exposed in the wilder parts of my garden.
A weeding life-saver has been my decision to apply small stones over a garden tarp for a stone garden around the house. This keeps away many weeds, and prevents dust from blowing into the house.
The weed wacker and stones don’t work for all weeds sprouting up around the garden however. There is still some get-down-on-your-hands-and-knees work that needs to be done. I have quite a large garden, so I spread this out over a few weekends to save my back-side!
#3. Spraying
This spring, my gardener brought me a bunch of rose bush cuttings from his garden. They are beautiful white roses with pink tips. I have lined them around my main living room terrace as a new feature! They were the first to get hit with leaf eating pests :(.
I started spraying a home-made DIY solution of dish soap, vinegar and baking soda (thank you Instagram!) once a week, which is working beautifully. It worked so well, that I am now applying it throughout my garden when I see pests.
Med Garden plants to check regularly for pests are: bougainvillea, oleander, fruit trees, and roses. These are the ones where I find pests the most.
Here is the recipe for the home-made DIY pest solution for spraying:
DIY Pest Spray for Med Garden Plants - that really works!
Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon white vinegar
1 cup water
1 1/2 Tablespoons baking soda
1 Tablespoon dish soap
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil (or any other cooking oil)
Directions:
Mix vinegar and water, then add baking soda, dish soap and vegetable oil. Stir mixture into one gallon water. Pour into spray bottle and spray on roses’ foliage. Reapply every seven to ten days or after a rainstorm.
#4. Feeding
Another key learning from my Med Garden in 2023, was that our poor soils in the Med need more nutrients more often! For the ornamental trees and flowers I have been applying organic fertiliser pellets once a month since April. The food forests and fruit trees need more - every 2 weeks.
Don’t forget your pots! They need organic fertiliser too. I have also been applying each month since April.
In June, in addition to the organic fertiliser pellets, I am also applying a fresh topping of compost around all trees, flowers and in my pots, to prepare for summer.
For my new cacti, I applied a cactus compost when planted in April. I am re-applying the cactus compost again now in June.
#5. Watering
In full disclosure, I am still figuring out the optimal watering regimen for my Med Garden. I have tried to be conscious to create a water-wise garden by only selecting drought-tolerant and Mediterranean climate plants - that shouldn’t need too much water.
However, young plants do need more water in the first few years - and the Food Forests need constant watering in the first few years.
Last year I was finding a lot of yellowing and dropping leaves on my fruit trees, that could suggest too much water.
This year I have a drip system throughout the garden, which I have on a timer for daily watering of all of my flowering plants for 10 minutes. My food forests get 15 minutes of rain-water mimicking spray a day. For my more mature trees and new cacti, a once a week, deep watering. For my pots, daily watering with a 2L watering can per pot.
I’ll get you posted as I learn if this is the best formula for summer…
Gardening is a labour of love - and in June, it’s more labour than love ;)
I am curious to see how my garden grows this summer with My List of 5 Essential Garden Maintenance tricks applied in June.
I’ll be noting my observations in My Mediterranean Garden Notebook - get yours at Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk (affiliate links), or your country’s Amazon online shop!
Pulling up my sleeves, grabbing my tools and heading out to the garden!
Jade
Lewon
Med
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