June -Your garden ......
Plant 
  • Annuals - this is a good time to sow cosmos, marigolds and zinnias
Pruning and Cleaning Up
  • Lilacs 
  • Dead head peonies and pinch mums and asters until early July
  • Cut back and layer perennials to control height ​​
  • Azaleas ​
Fertilize and Mulch
  •  Fertilize only as needed. 
  • Pine needles, rotted sawdust, straw, and leaves  make great mulch. 
  • Add mulch to flowerbeds to improve soil texture and preserve moisture.
Chores
  • Divide daffodils, move daylilies, divide woodland phlox, and spring and early summer flowering perennials after the blooms fade
  • If you haven't already done this, cut back fall bloomers that get too tall by 1/3 to 1/2 to reduce their height
  • Deadhead rhododendrons two weeks after blooms fade - carefully remove old blooms by hand so you don't injure the new leaf shoots under the blooms 
  • Think about organic seeds and plants started without neonicotoids for your vegetables, flowers, shrubs, and trees
Picture
Tip for Every month: ​
  • Keep your tools clean. Clean your tools after every use. 
  • Wear gloves. Use gloves for all of your gardening chores. Gloves will keep your skin out of direct contact with toxic plant substances (digitalis and nightshade families are toxic throughout the plant structure down to the roots). Remember, when handling peat moss  you can avoid a serious fungal infection (sporotrichosis - also called 'rose gardener's disease') if you wear gloves.  
  • Wear long sleeves to protect arms from poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac. 
  • Remember to check yourself and your clothes for ticks. 
  • Watch out for Giant Hogweed. Giant Hogweed is in our area (Fredericksburg) It is a member of the wild carrot family native to Asia and can reach heights of 6-10 feet. It looks like a giant Queen Anne's Lace as it grows. It is highly toxic! Do NOT touch, pull, brush against, or weed-whack this plant. Do NOT handle this plant. Do NOT try to remove this plant yourself.  Direct contact with this plant sensitizes the skin to the sun and leaves 3rd degree burns. If you see or suspect Giant Hogweed take digital photos of the leaf, stem, and flower and contact your local Virginia Cooperative Extension Office.   (photo Robert Videki, Doronicum Kft.)​
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Thanks to Suzanne Aiello who compiled these tips for the Dolley Madison Garden Club.