Top ten plants for June gardens

This relatively slow-growing, easy to care for tree is astonishingly beautiful at this time of year when it produces clusters of pretty, white flowers. Its branches naturally grow out horizontally, making it a lovely focal point as well as a talking point for guests. Well-suited for small to medium sized gardens, it is sure to add something special.

The petals of this large, semi-double flowered variety are a gorgeous lemon yellow, revealing a very pretty circle of dark red stamens as the petals start to unfurl. It flowers early in the season and generally doesn’t need feeding if planted in good quality soil. But, if necessary, it’s best to apply well-rotted manure before new shoots appear or alternatively a general purpose granular fertiliser.

The Siberian iris, although less common than their taller bearded cousins, are often a reliable alternative. Especially if you’re looking for plants for a pond edge, as these will grow in shallow water depths of up to 10cm as well as a wide range of conditions. This tall, elegant variety produces very beautiful soft, lilac-coloured flowers, held high above clumps of mid-green leaves.

The great thing about bistort plants is that they flower for months on end and are generally easy to grow, given the right soil conditions. ‘Darjeeling Red’ produces many flower spikes of tiny soft-pink flowers which turn brick red as they get older and can be planted in any part of a mixed flower border.

This is another easy to care for semi-evergreen shrub that will be in flower for many months, often from spring into early autumn. It has very pretty white flowers with a flush or purple in the centre. Although easy to grow, it will not take hard frosts and temperatures below -5C, so it best planted in a sheltered spot.

If you want a tall, elegant, pretty perennial in your garden this June, then look no further than this aptly named variety of meadow rue. Its long, purple-black stems are covered in swathes of fluffy purple rose colour flowers in early summer and the fern-like lacy foliage makes a pretty foil for other flowering plants during the rest of the season.

If you have the space and want an incredibly fragrant white flowered rambling rose that is in bloom continuously through summer, then this variety is perfect. They look great when planted and grown up trees too. Just ensure that the plant is well watered when first planted until it is established, giving it a feed each spring.

These very pretty coloured flowers are hybrids of the UK native loosestrife, which are often seen growing along streams. Rich-pink flowers appear on numerous spikes from June until August, making a great addition when planted in the middle of a mixed flower border where pollinators can enjoy them.

This perfectly named long-flowering shrub is a great choice for small gardens. It produces delightfully dainty, pretty pink flowers for months on end. As well, it attracts nectar loving insects, making it a great choice for a wildlife garden as well as low hedging.

There are hundreds of different varieties of these very versatile perennials to choose from which suit all different growing conditions. This early flowering variety grows really well in a shady spot, producing gorgeous dark burgundy flowers and also has particularly handsome maroon markings of the leaves.