After moving to the countryside last year and inheriting what is—by Dutch standards—a large garden, I have truly learned to appreciate the changing seasons. Spring is when everything wakes up and transforms, but June marks the transition to an even greater metamorphosis. Since the home garden was originally designed for the summer, June is when it truly comes alive.
I am so pleased with how it is looking, especially after all the hard work of pruning and cutting back in March and April. It is slowly but surely paying off, and now I can finally sit back in the lounge and just enjoy it. Right in the border beside the lounge, the Acer Palmatum ‘Shaina’ I planted last year has thrived beautifully. It is a stunning maroon red right now, and the way its colours shift throughout the seasons brings me so much joy. It will stay compact, around 1.5 meters tall when full grown, making it perfect for this spot.
My other Japanese Maple didn’t have the same luck. The Acer Palmatum ‘Bloodgood’ I put in our 12-meter side border didn’t do well, so I recently replaced it with an ‘Atropurpureum’. It is doing okay so far, and I am hoping it safely survives the winter. Unlike the compact ‘Shaina’, this variety can eventually grow up to 6 to 8 meters tall, which will look incredible in that long border. In that same 12-meter border, I am also eagerly waiting for the Calamintha Nepeta ‘White Cloud’ to blossom. Its delicate white flowers are going to provide a striking, beautiful contrast against the coneflowers, verbena and salvias.
Elsewhere, the Hydrangea Annabelle globes are now full and white, while both the English lavender and Geranium ‘Rozanne’ are in full, glorious bloom. The Purpletop Vervain (Verbena Bonariensis) has also started flowering—a joy that will last all the way into October. I absolutely love this plant! Meanwhile, the newly planted Star Jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) is blossoming, and I cannot wait for it to fully cover the fences. Even the 3-meter Italian Cypress trees we planted last March are thriving. Knowing they can eventually reach a spectacular 12 to 18 meters is incredibly exciting; they will provide a grand, dramatic height that perfectly matches the scale of the house. On the lower side, the blueberries (Bluecrop) and blackberries I picked up at the garden center have already flowered and are now bearing fruit.
The lawn tells a bit of a different story. The grass is green, but it could be doing better; we have an ongoing larvae infestation that essentially ate away the roots. Because of this, we have birds constantly visiting the lawn, digging into the turf with their beaks to feast on them.
Still, June is a wonderful month to simply sit back, enjoy, and watch the rest of the home garden come into its own. I already cannot wait to see the beautiful Coneflowers (Echinacea Purpurea) open up, and watch the Switchgrass (Panicum Virgatum) and Fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum) grow tall, eventually showing off their airy, delicate plumes. As a new gardener, I am incredibly pleased so far. There is so much to learn, and I am taking it all in with an open heart.
Happy Pottering!
With love from Jo