If May is the month when growth is rapid, June is when it can run away from you - the garden simply explodes into life with wild abandon.



Herbaceous plants, weeds, climbers, they are all in full swing. This is the month when there are no excuses, every possible spare moment must be found for the garden - to plant out the annuals, sow seed, wield the hoe and tie in and stake like mad. This is also the month when some pests and diseases are particularly active, especially if it is a wet month, to add to the warmness that we hope from "flaming June", so we must be on our guard.

Aphids can be squashed by running thumb and forefinger up stems and over buds or a mild solution of washing up water with a detergent in will do the job. With lilies keep a beady eye out for the red lily beetle and remove by hand. Pick off some leaves that are badly infected with black spot and make a mental note to rake up all the fallen leaves from infected bushes in the autumn/winter. Any suckers growing at the base of plants should also be removed.

Carry on pinching out any tendrils and tie in shoots of sweet peas. Plant dahlias in a generous hole with plenty of well rotted muck or compost. Cut back any early flowering herbaceous plants that have flowered such as euphorbia''s and start taking cuttings of any late season flowering perennials such as chrysanthemums. Stake and tie in anything that looks like it might flop over in the event of wind and heavy rain such as campanulas. With all danger of frost past this is the month to plant out all tender annuals.

Weed Control

Many gardeners find weeding a theraputic process, but if unsightly weeds are becoming a problem, the DuPont Plantex weed control fabric could be a solution. Air, water and liquid fertilisers can pass through the porous fabric, but it acts as a barrier to most weeds and grasses. Plantex can be used under gravel, paved areas, new lawns and timber decking, as well as to inhibit weeds in herbaceous borders, shrub and flower beds. It is available from builders'' merchants and garden centres.

Summer pruning - Fruit

Summer prune trained fruit trees and bushes such as cordons and espaliers, dwarf pyramids and fans, particularly the spur-bearing kind - apples, pears, redcurrants, gooseberries.



Timing is important. A good guide is to start when lateral growth is fully extended and has become woody at the base, but while the points of the shoots are still soft.



• Shorten the young laterals back to four or five fully formed leaves.

• Any secondary growth from the shortened shoots should be pinched out as soon as it appears.



Hygiene

Remember to sterilise secateurs after use to help prevent the spread of disease from one tree to another.



Lilac

For elderly lilac, take strong action now to rejuvenate the plant and it will make new growth over the summer. Saw branches down to about 45cm (18in) from the base for a bushier look next year.