AS WE get into June, there is plenty of work to be done in the garden as early perennials begin to fade and the next batch begin to come through.

Flowerbeds need attention and then there is the grass to mow and tender vegetables to get into their plots. This sounds like all work and no play, but there is nothing more satisfying than spending an hour or so deadheading and weeding a bed then stepping back to admire the handiwork on the freshly cut lawn.

Early peonies have dropped their lovely petals and are beginning to develop seed-heads. At this stage the foliage can become quite floppy, but the attractive deeply cut leaves will stay on the plant for some time yet, so it is worth lifting them with twiggy sticks to keep the clump looking neat.

Later-flowering members of this plant family will bloom this month, their buds are beginning to colour and fatten as they prepare to open.

Forget-me-nots that gave us ribbons and clusters of colour throughout the garden in spring now are mildewed and tatty. They can be pulled from the beds now, although it is worth looking at the base of the plants to see if new growth is beginning to appear. If so it is worth cutting away the old stems and leaving the new plantlets in situ. These will grow over the summer and flower next year.

Forget-me-nots tend to reappear annually once they have arrived in your garden but, as further insurance, give the seed heads a shake as they are removed to let the seed fall. Alternatively leave a few plants alone to self-seed.


In the veg patch

OUR plants have begun to flower but the potatoes are hardly developing at all, which is disappointing. As novice vegetable gardeners, setbacks are inevitable and we wonder if we have been wise not to water in this dry weather.

The area was well prepared with barrow-loads of manure to enrich the sandy soil, but the patch is also edged with trees which take away a lot of the moisture and there has been so little rain. So we have been out with the hose and watering daily to get them hydrated and to encourage the tiny spuds to grow.


Weekend catch-up

START picking sweet peas as soon as they begin to flower to stop them going to seed and to encourage blooms throughout the summer. Make sure they have plenty of support to cling to and soak them every day especially in dry, warm weather and they will provide bunches of fragrant flowers for the home for weeks.


Open gardens

Tomorrow

In aid of the National Gardens Scheme

Burton Agnes Hall, Burton Agnes, Driffield, YO25 4ND. Award-winning gardens with 4,000 different plant species in borders, jungle and colour themed gardens and a potager. Plant collections include hardy geraniums, clematis, penstemons and a national collection of Campanula. A Gardeners’ Fair will be held this weekend with more than 50 stalls selling plants and garden accessories. Open 11am-5pm, admission £4.50 adult, £2.50 child. Admission to the Gardeners’ Fair £4. Also open today 11am-5pm.

Clifton Castle, near Masham, HG4 4AB. Gardens with views, river walks, wooded grounds, wild flower meadow and walled kitchen garden. Open 2pm-5pm, admission £4.

Norton Conyers, Wath, near Ripon, HG4 5EQ. Walled garden with herbaceous borders, yew hedges and an Orangery fronted by a pond. The house (closed for repair) was the inspiration for Thornfield Hall in Jane Eyre. Open 2pm-5pm, admission £5.

The Old Coach House, Church Lane, Elvington, YO41 4HD. Two-acre garden with long mixed borders, hosta garden, wildlife pond, vegetable and flower gardens and long rose pergola. Open noon-6pm, admission £3. Elvington village fete will be on the village green.

Oswaldkirk Hall, Oswaldkirk, YO62 5XT. Sloping four-acre garden with kitchen and white gardens, orchard, stumpery, borders and views to Howardian Hills. Open 1pm-5pm, admission £3. Also open today 1pm-5pm.

26, West End, Walkington, HU17 8SX. One-acre wildlife cottage garden with many rare plants collected over 20 years which opens out into an old gravel pit which is being developed by the owner. Open 1.30pm-5pm, admission £3.50.

Whixley Gardens, Whixley, near York, YO26 8AR. Four village gardens open. Ash Tree House has a sloping garden with an extensive rockery, mature borders, shrubs and roses, The Bay House has a densely planted courtyard, The Old Vicarage has a ¾-acre walled garden with climbers, mixed borders and old brick paths leading to hidden seating areas and Cobble Cottage has a black and white courtyard garden, Japanese garden and architectural plants. Open 1pm-5pm, combined admission £5.

Friday

Linden Lodge, Newbridge Lane, near Wilberfoss, YO41 5RB. One-acre garden with many unusual trees and plants. Box and lavender edged gravel paths leading to borders, wildlife pond and summerhouse. There is also a kitchen garden, glasshouse, orchard, formal garden and five acres of developing meadow. Evening opening 6pm-8.30pm, admission £6 including wine/juice and nibbles.

• The garden will also be open June 18 and 19, 11am-5pm, admission £4.


Gardening TV and radio

Tomorrow

8am, Radio Humberside, The Great Outdoors. With Blair Jacobs and Doug Stewart.

9am, BBC Radio Leeds, Tim Crowther and Joe Maiden.

2pm, BBC R4, Gardeners’ Question Time. Chris Beardshaw, Pippa Greenwood, Christine Walkden and chairman Eric Robson join community based charity Transition Town Totnes, in Devon. Anne Swithinbank visits a local nut forest. (Repeated from Friday).

Friday

3pm, BBC R4, Gardeners’ Question Time. Eric Robson is joined by panellists Chris Bearshaw, Pippa Greenwood and Christine Walkden while Anne Swithinbank advises on creating a garden pond.

8pm, BBC2, Gardeners’ World. In an hour-long programme, Monty Don plants out dahlias and looks at extending the life of Longmeadow’s vegetable garden. He then meets Carol, Joe and Rachel at Gardeners’ World Live to view the show gardens and take part in the bring-and-buy plant sale.

8pm, ITV, Love Your Garden. Alan Titchmarsh visits a garden in Berkshire and shows how to replicate some of its features including clematis, ironwork benches and mosaic paths.