In Your Garden

MAY…

is a REALLY busy time in the garden!

As bulbs fade and herbaceous borders grow in leaps and bounds, it is now clear that summer is fast approaching. Sowing and planting out of bedding can begin and softwood cuttings can be taken.

Plant out cannas and dahlias once the danger of frost has passed. Tubs can be planted up for Summer colour.

If you want to grow your own Spring bedding for next year eg wallflowers, pansies, and daisies, they need to be sown between now and July in order to flower next spring, as they are biennials. Winter bedding plants can also be sown from now until July.

Divide clumps of herbaceous perennials that you want to propagate. Clumps of bulbs or rhizomes can be divided in the same way. Cutting back clumps of spring-flowering perennials such as Pulmonaria and Doronicum can encourage a fresh flush of foliage.

Divide Primula (primroses) after flowering, planting them in a nursery bed until they are ready for planting out again in the autumn, for a display the following spring.  Divide hostas as they come into growth.

Spreading and trailing plants eg perennials Alyssum and Aubrieta, can become tatty and patchy. Trimming them back after flowering encourages fresh growth and new flowers.

Lift and divide over-crowded clumps of daffodils after they have flowered. Deadhead tulips and daffodils.

Propagation:- Take softwood cuttings of tender perennials like Argyranthemum, Pelargonium and Fuchsia. They will provide new plants for display later this summer.

Perennials that are showing new shoots from the crown can be propagated via basal stem cuttings.

Apply a liquid fertiliser to spring bulbs after they have flowered, to encourage good flowering next year, and help prevent daffodil blindness, but always allow the foliage of daffodils and other spring-flowering bulbs to die down naturally.

Lift clumps of forget-me-not once the display wanes, and before too many seeds are released. They can become invasive if left unchecked.

Put supports in place for herbaceous plants before they are too tall, or for those - like peonies - that produce heavy blooms.

It's also time to get back into the lawn mowing regime, as the lawn will be loving the warmer temperatures this month brings. If you have space, leave some lawn long for the pollinators. Be careful not to scalp the lawn, so mow it on a high setting

Pull up annual weeds by hand before they set seed. Hoe borders to prevent annual and perennial weeds from spreading and seeding themselves.

Sweet peas need training and tying in to their supports to encourage them to climb  and make a good display

Pinch out the leading shoots on chrysanthemums and sunflowers to encourage bushy plants.

Liquid feed plants in containers every two to four weeks.

Keep tubs, hanging baskets and alpine troughs well watered. Use collected rainwater, or recycled grey water wherever possible.

Pot on indoor plants showing signs of being root bound.

Greenhouses are vulnerable to overheating from now until autumn- so open vents.

Feed bare soil between plants with general-purpose fertiliser and dose acid-loving rhododendrons and camellias with sequestered iron. Blackberries, loganberries and blackcurrants need a high-nitrogen feed.

Sow peas, broad beans, brassicas, leeks, root veg, spinach, chicory, Swiss chard, salad and hardy herbs. Start tender veg and half-hardy annuals – cosmos, nicotiana, snapdragons – under cover

Plant Jerusalem artichokes and asparagus crowns.