What to Plant in June for a Full and Flourishing Summer Garden
The time is right to fill your space with flowers, vegetables, herbs, and much more
June is a month of (almost) endless possibilities. The soil is warm, and there is lots of sunlight, a perfect combo of conditions that makes it an ideal time to get planting. For any gardeners eager to add to their space this month, the good news is that there is a long list of suitable ornamental and edible plants.
It is a time to plant summer bedding, flowering perennials, quick-growing annuals, vegetables for summer (and later) harvests, herbs, and even some fruit. Provided you aren’t in the midst of a heat wave, you can plant young plants into the soil or sow seeds directly into the ground, raised beds, pots, or hanging baskets.
If you worry you are late with your planting, or want to transform your backyard ideas for summer, time is still on your side. This guide to what to plant in June is ideal for any gardener who aspires for more flowers or edibles this year. Just remember to water anything you plant deeply, and check regularly to keep the soil moist around any new plantings or sowings.
Plant Speedy Annuals
There is a glorious range of fast-growing annual flowers you can plant in June to add vibrant color to flower beds, containers, and hanging baskets for the summer months.
These flowering annuals reliably germinate and can go from sowing to blooming in a matter of weeks – plus they can go on flowering for an age with deadheading.
Marigolds, zinnia, sunflowers, cosmos, nasturtiums, and celosia are among the best fast-growing annual flowers to sow in June.
You can sow the flowers directly into a sunny border, or start them off indoors (though nasturtiums and sunflowers dislike root disturbance, so will do better sown directly in their growing position).
If you do prefer indoor sowings, using biodegradable pots is a clever way to reduce root disturbance when transplanting seedlings, since you plant the pot along with the plant. You can get biodegradable fiber pots at Burpee.
Plant Summer Bedding
Bedding plants are a tried-and-trusted way for many gardeners to add color to their yard from summer right through until the frosts. You see many a suburban flower bed, container, or municipal space adored with such annuals or tender perennials year after year.
If you sow your summer bedding plants indoors in spring, or head to the garden center or nursery to stock up on trays of plants, June is the time to finally get them planted out into the garden.
Classic bedding plants like geraniums, begonias, petunias, lobelias, marigolds, coleus, and impatiens all offer bright colors and can be planted in full sun or part shade. Give the sun-loving plants at least six hours a day, though keep the likes of impatiens, begonias, and coleus in a shadier spot, especially in warmer US hardiness zones.
It is beneficial to amend the soil beforehand; trust me, the plants will appreciate it. Add compost or well-rotted manure to boost soil nutrients and help with drainage.
The most important care tip is to water plants regularly after planting to help them establish. Water deeply every few days, rather than shallow daily watering, as it helps the plants develop a strong root network.
Plant Perennials
In milder climates, there is still time to transform your flower beds and borders for not just this season, but for years to come, by planting flowering perennials in June.
There is a wide variety of perennials you can plant this month, coming in a plethora of colors and sizes. The list includes classic favorites like coneflower, shasta daisy, black-eyed Susan, astilbe, penstemon, milkweed, and hardy geraniums.
The secret to success with planting perennials in June is (like all on this list) to water them every few days and mulch around the plants with organic matter to retain moisture and protect the roots from temperature spikes.
If a heatwave is predicted after planting perennials, consider using shade cloth to provide temporary shade to avoid stress or scorching (you can get 80% shade cloth at Walmart). It is a quick, easy way to protect plants in a heatwave and stop your new plants from succumbing before you’ve got a chance to enjoy them.
Plant Heat-loving Vegetables
With warmer temperatures here and days only going to get hotter, June is the perfect time to plant warmth-loving crops into their final position in the vegetable garden. In hotter climates, this can be outdoors, but gardeners in milder areas may still plant them in an unheated greenhouse or polytunnel.
Whether you sowed seeds indoors and are transplanting seedlings, or bought young plants, it is the ideal month to plant the likes of tomatoes, eggplant, cucumbers, peppers, zucchini, okra, corn, squash, and pumpkin plants. These plants all adore warmth and sun, and once the soil reaches 65-70°F, conditions are perfect to plant them out.
Water deeply after planting and keep a close eye on the soil moisture over the coming days and weeks, especially on hot days. A soil moisture meter, available at Amazon, is a quick and easy way to check the levels. Watering plants in the morning gives the most time to soak up the moisture before temperatures rise later in the day.
Plant Fast-Growing Crops
If you live in cooler climates, there is time to get one more sowing of fast-growing vegetables to provide speedy harvests before the temperatures peak in midsummer.
The likes of radish, lettuce, beets, arugula, spinach, mizuna, and pak choi can be sown or planted out for cropping. As the plants tend to bolt and turn bitter in the summer heat, there may be an opportunity for one last quick crop before the window to sow closes until early fall.
In June and throughout the summer, you can also keep successively sowing crops like peas, carrots, and green onions. Doing so means you get continuous harvests, rather than gluts.
Plant Fall and Winter Vegetables
It may seem odd to be thinking of cold-season harvests, but planning reaps rewards in the kitchen garden.
June is the perfect time to plant fall and winter vegetables, such as Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, celeriac, and leeks. These plants are slow-growing and need a minimum of 10-12 weeks from planting to harvesting.
Planting in late spring or early summer will mean fall harvests, and the plants can remain in the ground for picking right through fall and winter.
You can sow seeds outdoors directly in late spring, but I find starting plants indoors and planting out yields the best results – and without the risk of slugs or snails nibbling seedlings.
Mulching around the crops after planting will keep the soil cool and retain moisture throughout the summer. Use organic matter for mulching vegetables, such as compost, well-rotted manure, leaf mold, or bark chippings, like this pine bark mulch at Lowe's.
Plant Herbs and Medicinal Flowers
Whether you want to snip herbs for cooking and baking, to elevate summer drinks, or to harvest for their medicinal properties, June is a fantastic month to add seeds and young plants to your herb garden.
The warm conditions are suitable for tender herbs like basil, tarragon, parsley, dill, and coriander, and there is still time to add hardier herbs like mint, thyme, rosemary, and oregano into any bed or herb planter.
(Of course, as you’ll likely have heard countless times, always grow mint into a pot or restricted space to stop this thuggish plant from spreading.)
There are other medicinal plants you can add to your yard in June, too, including the likes of calendula, lavender, coneflower, and chamomile.
Plant Fruit
Finally, there are still opportunities to plant fruit in June. It is not the ideal time for planting fruit trees or bushes, but there are some fruits you can add to your yard in late spring or early summer.
For example, you can plant strawberries, with potted plants routinely seen for sale throughout the month, and you can start growing melons in June. See the range of live strawberry plants at Burpee.
When you grow cantaloupes or honeydew melons, the soil needs to be at least 70°F to plant out melon seedlings.
If you haven’t sown seeds, that window is shut, but look for young plants. Such as this live cantaloupe starter plant at Amazon.
June can feel like a very busy time in the gardening calendar. As well as planting, there is always weeding, watering, feeding, and pruning to do.
It can be hard to keep on top of any summer gardening checklist, but there are some June gardening mistakes to avoid. They include incorrect watering, not supporting your plants, ignoring weeds, and not feeding plants at this key time in the gardening calendar.
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