WHAT TO DO THIS MONTH?

May is the month when everything seems to start growing strongly and the garden is exploding into life. The best way to appreciate just how much new life is starting is just to get out in your garden each day and see for yourself. Here is our guide to some of the things you can be doing while you are out there.

​

General Maintenance

1. Mow the lawn weekly and given it a god feed with a high nitrogen feed.

2. Trim hedges but check for nesting birds first. Leave well alone if they are present and wait until the chicks have flown the nest.

3. Keep on top of weeds, as well as plants bursting into life the weeds are growing too. Keep the vegetable patch clear by using a Dutch Hoe on annual weeds. You will need to dig out perennial weeds with long taproots, like docks and dandelions, use a hand fork or dandelion grubber.

4. Remember to water container plants regularly. Even when it rains the new leafy growth often stops the rain reaching the compost. Feed fortnightly with a general purpose feed.

5. Keep checking for aphids, early infestations can quickly get out of control. Squash by hand and encourage natural predators like hoverflies, ladybirds and wild birds to feast on the sap suckers.

​

Flowers & Shrubs​

1. Plant summer bedding in pots, window boxes and hanging baskets to add instant colour to patios and front steps. In colder areas of the country, wait until the end of the month to avoid any last cold snaps.

2. Sow annuals like Sunflowers, Poppies and Cornflowers outdoors for a colourful  summer display.

3. It’s time to prune spring-flowering shrubs like forsythia, Japanese quince, flowering currants and Choisya to keep them looking neat. Wait until they have finished flowering first.

4. Once the frosts have finished cut back the early flowering Group 1 Clematis like Montana and Armandii. Cut back to a leaf joint to maintain the shape and size of the plant.

5. Harden off tender perennials by placing them out in the sun during the day but back undercover at night for at least a week and then they should be ready to stay out permanently.

6. The Chelsea Chop! You can extend the flowering time of plants such as Echinacea, Helenium and Aster by cutting back in late May (around the time of the Chelsea Flower Show). This should give more blooms later in the flowering season.

7. Spring bulbs should now have died back and it’s time to remove the leaves at ground level.  It’s also the time to lift and divide and large clumps of them and replant.

8. Start planting up your hanging baskets with all your favourites. Calibrachoa, petunias, bacopa, helichrysum, fuchsia, geranium, lobelia, nemesia and verbena to name a few. Wait until the last frosts have passed before putting them out.

 

Fruit & Vegetables

1. Ideally First Early and Second Early Potatoes are in the ground. If you haven’t done so already it is the time to get them in the ground whether they are chitted or not. Dig a trench deep enough to cover your tubers with 5cm (2 inches) of soil. Plant earlies 30cm (12 inches) apart. Main crop potatoes should now be planted 40cm (16 inches) apart. Cover and firm down slightly lower than ground level. This will help direct water to the new potatoes. Once leaves start to show rake up the soil to protect from late frosts.

2. Broad Beans and Runner Beans can be planted outside with canes in place ready to support them.

3. Pot on tomatoes, chillies and peppers into larger containers. Put in a cane and tie in to support them as they grow.

4. Start to harden off the vegetable seedlings you sowed last month, tomato, cucumbers, courgettes, pumpkins and French beans. They will be ready to go outside when any signs of frost have finished towards the end of the month. It’s also best to harden off small vegetable plants bought at the Garden Centre before planting out.

5. Don’t forget to protect your crops from predators. You can do this by covering with fine mesh but make sure birds can’t get caught up in the mesh. The finer mesh the better. And keep a look out for greenfly, blackfly, caterpillars etc. Check daily before any infestation can get out of hand and destroy your crop.

 

Whether perennials, vegetable plants, compost, tools or pots you need or whatever you plan to do in your garden this May why not come and see us at Wensleydale Garden Centre and see how we can help. We look forward to seeing you. 

​