Mzz B's May Garden

Alliums

Wisteria

Rosa Banksia

The garden in May

The garden is looking great currently- the warm weather has brought lots of things on, but cold nights hold somethings back- it's a strange growing season. With drought forecast this summer, growing plants that can manage without extensive regular watering are really important. When planting – dig a large hole fill it with water and let it drain, then plant into this. Water the plant as usual after planting, but that should be enough to get it going, if you can, mulch with leaf mould, compost or gravel, to keep that moisture in, and it will hopefully manage until the rain comes! Tthose of you who have clay – the only way to manage during a drought is to mulch-this should help stop the clay from drying out and becoming like cement.

Mediterranean plants with small grey leaves are drought tolerant – it may be good to concentrate on hardy versions of these plants.

The wisteria and the Rosa banksia – a huge growing yellow rose are in full bloom. Gardening is a gamble at the best of times, when do we expect the last frost? when do we put out tender perennials? Will it rain?it is all a bit of a gamble.

. Make sure you have hardened plants off before planting out. This means keeping them in a greenhouse or cold frame overnight then putting them out in the day time, once overnight temperatures are higher then they can be left out.

Things to do this in May:

• Watch out for late frosts, protect tender plants with fleece.
• Earth up potatoes, and plant any still remaining.
• Plant out summer bedding at end of the month.
• Water early and late to get the most out of your water, recycle water when possible. Think of getting a rain butt to catch rainfall. Also water hostas inthe morning rather than the evening as this seems to manage slug predation.
• Regularly hoe weeds, the more you can keep on top of the weds the less they will reseed!
• Open Greenhouse vents and doors to let air circulate and prevent damp from causing mould.

Mow lawns weekly.

• Lift and divide overcrowded clumps of daffodils and spring flowering bulbs, no need to tie them up they are best left.
• Watch out for viburnum beetle and lily beetle grubs, and get rid of them! I have spent the last few weeks hunting down the bright red lily beetle, but a few will have been missed the next chance to get rid of them is at the larval stage, they lay eggs on the underside of leaves, and then hatch out into little grubs that over themselves in their own excrement, not a nice job get rid of them!

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