Gardening Advice and Helpful Tips
Your garden in May.
Will Clark
Plant Area Manager
May always feels like a turning point in the gardening calendar with the promise of good times just around the corner. Will Clark shares his top 10 jobs to help your garden bloom all summer long.
1. Prep your pots
As the weather warms up, it’s time to fill your patio containers, hanging baskets and window boxes with summer bedding plants. Add moisture-retaining crystals to the compost to help reduce the amount of watering needed and feed every two to four weeks to promote healthy growth.
Pair your plants with the perfect pot.
Designed to create a warm welcome at your doorstep or brighten up a patio, we have a stunning selection of pots and containers for every space.
2. Winning combinations
Putting a little thought into your plant pairings is always worth the effort. One of my favourite combinations is at this time of year is Syringa vulagaris ‘Madame Lemoine’ paired with Camassia cusickii.
3. Ready, steady, sow
If your soil feels like it has warmed up, most vegetable crops can be sown now. With quick growing crops such as salads and spinach, repeat sow every 10 days to ensure a consistent supply of fresh leaves. Start sowing runner, dwarf and climbing French beans too for a bumper summer crop!
Ready to get your hands dirty?
Get expert recommendations for this month’s best seeds to sow from Ryan, our Gardening and Wildlife Manager.
4. Just peachy
The colour peach is trending for 2024. It’s the Pantone Colour of the Year and if you want to add some peachy hues to your garden, try Dahlia Labyrinth, Narcissus Waldorf Astoria and Verbascum Tropical Sun.
5. Chelsea chop
It’s time to take the secateurs to later-flowering herbaceous perennials. Shrubs that have finished flowering such as Viburnums, Ribes and Forsythias should be pruned and trimmed back. Pruning immediately after flowering guarantees healthy new growth for the year.
6. Shady characters
In almost every garden, there’s a shady spot where you need more colour. Alchemilla mollis is a very popular hardy perennial with vigorous growth, excellent for filling large areas with its spray of tiny yellow flowers. Or Aquilegia vulgaris, with more compact growth, is ideal for smaller, more contained areas.
Shine a Light on Shade
It’s becoming increasingly common for gardens to be shaded by nearby buildings and trees. Although they can be cool and shady during parts of the year, these areas are also an opportunity to grow some shade-tolerant plants.
7. Vine time
Plant out tomatoes in the greenhouse now and you’ll be picking fresh tomatoes by summer. Erect strong supports before planting as mature fruiting plants will be heavy. Start feeding when the first flowers appear.
Grow Tomatoes
Tomatoes can be started from seed indoors or bought as young plants, then grown either outdoors or in a greenhouse, in pots or in the ground. They grow particularly well in a greenhouse, usually producing an earlier and larger crop. The secret to caring for tomato plants is regular watering and feeding, especially once fruits start to develop.
8. Cut backs
Your spring bulbs will probably have finished now. Deadheading daffodils not only looks neater but also means that the plant’s energy is returned to the bulb. Leave foliage to die down naturally, again strengthening the bulb for next year.
Create a Bulb Lasange
This year we created a how-to video on creating your own bulb lasange! Click the button below to see the results!
9. Support system
Climbers such as clematis, sweet peas and passion flowers will be putting on spurts of growth now, so take a bit of time to tie in new growth to their supports. Use garden twine in a figure of eight shape to attach the stem to the support with the knot on the support side.
Plant Supports and Trellis
Gardens need TLC to encourage them to stay healthy and looking their best. In our Gardening and Wildlife department we have divided products into dedicated categories to make it easier for you to care for your plants and lawn. Throughout the year, you will find different displays showcasing select products and jobs, with plenty of helpful tips designed to give you a helping hand.
10. Weed and water
Lastly, remember to weed and water, keeping an eye out for greenfly, blackfly, other aphids, caterpillars, slugs and snails. And when you’re done, take time to sit back and enjoy being outdoors in the garden again.
Happy May!
Learn more
Ruth McNamee
Greenhouse Senior
October on the Veg Plot...
October is a great month to get ahead in the veg patch, writes Ruth McNamee.
Choose a sunny sheltered spot to sow broad beans. The variety Aquadulce Claudia does well from autumn sowing. Sow a double row with seeds 20cm apart. These plants should germinate, stand over winter and quickly establish when the weather warms. The crop can be enjoyed a couple of weeks earlier than spring sown seeds.
You can start to plant out garlic this month 15cm apart in rows 30cm apart. This can be left to next month if preferred. And there is still time to plant out overwintering onions. Make a shallow drill and place the sets pointy end up 15cms apart in rows 30cms apart. Onions are ready to harvest early next summer. Try onion and garlic in big pots and keep in a sheltered spot for the best results.
October is a great month to get your permanent planting done. It’s a good time to establish your fruit and asparagus beds while the soil is still warm from the summer heat. Rhubarb and asparagus crowns will now be available in the garden centre. Prepare the beds by removing all weeds. These crops will be in these beds for many years so it helps to give them a good start.
May is the month where strawberries flower so mulch plants with straw.
Prune early flowering shrubs such as the Forsynthia and Weigela.
Direct sow basil next to tomato seedlings to help draw white fly away.
Veg seeds that can be sown outdoors include courgette, beetroot and sprouts.
Lift and divide your spring bulbs and plant where you want for next year.
Check all foliage for lily beetle and greenfly and dispose of any found.
Gardening Jobs for January
Buy seeds to be sown in January or February.
Buy seed potatoes, onion sets and garlic.
Appraise the garden for form and structure, and plan alterations and additions.
Plant window boxes and containers for seasonal colour.
Protect vulnerable plants from frost and wind damage.
Firm in any autumn-planted shrubs and border plants lifted by frost.
Knock snow off branches, especially on conifers and hedges, if they are bending under the weight.
Check stakes and ties on newly planted trees.
Remember the birds in the garden and put out food for them, especially when it’s frosty.
