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What to do in the garden in May

May 4, 2015 By Jill Anderson 2 Comments

May is a month of glorious anticipation in the garden, nice long days, a fair amount of sunshine and plants growing at a fast pace. Huge rewards are reaped from any garden tasks that are done this month, so lets press on.

Hardy annuals:

please sow some hardy annual seeds, they can be sown directly onto garden soil in a sunny spot right where you want them to flower and in a few weeks you’ll be rewarded with flowers for cutting or to admire as you sit in the garden witha cuppa, try some of these:

  • sunflowers
  • ammi majus – looks like cow parsley, but better behaved
  • cornflowers
  • poppies- lots of different types and colours
  • calendula-english marigolds
  • night-scented stock-delicious scent
what to do in the garden in May-Poppy flowers

poppies

 

Ammi majus flowers

ammi majus

Watering

this needs doing if it doesn’t rain for a couple of days, most plants need warmth and water at this stage and seedlings need watering every day. Shrubs & trees planted during the last year need watering regularly until they’ve grown a good rooot system

Weeding

keep this up to catch them before they flower and spread their seeds everywhere, multiplying before your eyes.

Harden-off tender plants 

like dahlias and everything else that’s been grown on window sillls and in greenhouses, this is the process of toughening-up before they live outside permanently. This usually happens at the end of the month in the south-east when I’m sure there won’t be a frost.

Growing seedlings on the window sill

seedlings growing on the window-sill

Softwood cuttings 

this is a method of making plants from the soft new spring growth of deciduous plants, it’s easy because everything is programmed to grow at this time of year. Use plants like delphineum, asters, salvia including the sage family of plants.

Keep adding to the compost heap

kitchen waste, thogh not cooked food and soft greenery from the garden, avoiding weeds will Saves unnecesary watse going to landfill when it could all decompose into lovely rich compost.

Snip spent flowers from spring flowering bulbs

like daffodils and tulips, so that the energy goes into building up the bulb for next year, rather than into seed production.

I’m looking forward to writing here about The Chelsea Flower Show which swings into action at the end of the month, still excited about this after all these years.

Read about how to sow hardy annuals here, how to harden-off plants here.

Happy gardening

Jill

all photos: Jill Anderson

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Related posts:

How to have a good looking lawn without using chemicals Let’s make bee friendly gardens Cyclamen hederifoliumPlanting pots to last through winter What to do in your garden in November
Filed Under: Blog, Gardening, Plants, Recycling & Sustainability Tagged With: cut flowers from seed, growing half-hardy annuals from seed, what to do in the garden in May

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Comments

  1. Robert Donkor says

    May 15, 2015 at 10:53 pm

    Just found you today 15/05/15, great information. I am a new gardener & i am learning a lot.

    Reply
    • Jill Anderson says

      June 2, 2015 at 10:18 am

      Hi Robert, thanks for your comment, it’s always nice to inspire new gardeners. I hope you find plenty more useful information on the site. Jill

      Reply

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Hello, I’m Jill Anderson.
This is where you’ll find good, solid information about gardening, growing fruit & vegetables and how to keep it all looking good.
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These wonderful autumn colours won’t be around for much longer. But that’s ok, because now is what matters, & their fleeting beauty makes them even more precious.
It’s easy to see how being among trees & nature is so beneficial for our health & wellbeing. 
Have a great Sunday.
Savouring all the autumn colour, & doesn’t it lo Savouring all the autumn colour, & doesn’t it look spectacular with this bold front door.
Today has been hard work, after a lovely time last week in Norfolk. The north coast there is spectacular. Realising these last few months, that there are so many beautiful places here. 
Have a nice evening.
Charming glasshouse at Houghton Hall, Norfolk. Vis Charming glasshouse at Houghton Hall, Norfolk. Visiting to see the Anish Kapoor sculptures, which are amazing, but unprepared for the beauty of the grounds & garden. 
Such a treat, worth coming to Norfolk for this alone!
Hope you’re keeping well, & managing to smile some of the time. x
P.S. more of Houghton Hall & Anish Kapoor on my stories
We stopped off on the way home to pick blackberrie We stopped off on the way home to pick blackberries, after coffee & cake, sitting in the churchyard - the cafe was full, & the churchyard is a quiet, peaceful spot..... as you’d expect.
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Hope you’re weekend is going well.
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Great for small space gardening, imagine how much room you need to grow these without vertical supports.

I’ve got 2 Uchiki kuri, lovely nutty flavour.
1 Turks turban, for its flamboyant shape & colours, though it also tastes good.
One unknown, grown by my grandsons in their homeschooled science lesson.
Close-ups of the squash over on my stories.
Stay cool my friends x
I wanted to show you this lovely lily ( Lilium reg I wanted to show you this lovely lily ( Lilium regale) which is flowering right outside our bedroom window. 
It gets sun for about 4 hours only, you can order the bulbs now for planting in September. It’ll reappear every year & waft delicious scent around your garden, or through your windows.
Have a very happy Monday x
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Spinach, courgettes & garlic in shot here. 
Enjoy the rest of your Sunday x
Hope is a decision I’ve thought long & hard abou Hope is a decision
I’ve thought long & hard about how to view the tumult in the world we’re living in now. 
The only thing that works for me, is to choose hope.

It’s a tall order, but avoiding mainstream news & speculation helps avoid the anxiety, that’s often waiting in the wings.

One day soon there’ll be grandchildren clambering over this again.
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