Job of the week

Prune spring-flowering shrubs

Don't let your physocarpus or other spring-flowering shrubs become overgrown, woody and thin on flowers. Pruning out the stems that have bloomed this spring will keep your plants at a manageable size and will guarantee an explosion of flowers the next year.
Takes just 50 minutes

Flowers

  • Collect and sow seed from foxgloves
  • Take cuttings from pinks (Dianthus)
  • Prune philadelphus after flowering

Fruit & veg

  • Water beans and pick them regularly
  • Transplant brassica seedlings to their final positions
  • Lift early potatoes and shallots as they mature

Greenhouse

  • Take cuttings of zonal and regal pelargoniums
  • Train the main stem of cucumber plants up a wire
  • Water plants in pots and grow bags

Around the garden

  • Compost your kitchen and garden waste
  • Top up water levels in garden ponds if they are getting low
  • Push canes in around tall plants like gladioli and lilies