MAY should be a merry month for the gardener — full of promise.
But this year the start of the month has been cold and the advice has been to hold back on planting out tender plants, such as courgettes, squash and even tomatoes, which will be "checked" by chill nights.
But it is a month for sowing and the patio pots and hanging baskets are there for the planting. You can almost see things growing.
Runners and climbing beans can soon be used to fill up corners and dwarf beans, carrot, beetroot and rainbow chard can be sown among bedding plants. Tulips should still be blooming and decorative shrubs, such as ceanothus, cherry blossom and rhododendrons will be making a striking show.
THE DECORATIVE GARDEN
WELL-rotted compost from your garden heap will work wonders. For those unable to compost or get hold of horse or farmyard manure there is Miracle-Gro Eco-Sense Soil Improver. That will improve the structure and water-holding capacity and encourage the roots to spread deep and wide to find nourishment.
April lacked traditional showers and the start of May could have done with a splash of rain, so plenty of organic matter to hold on to moisture is important.
So too is feed and pelleted chicken manure is a good one, replacing, as it has, the millions of tonnes of guano we used to import as a nation.
Flowering shrubs or climbers that are shy to bloom can be coaxed with a good feed. Before planting out your bedding plants give them a thorough watering with a tablespoon of feed in the can.
A tonic will ensure the plants are in tip-top condition, ready for any transplanting shock that results from ripping them from their trays or pots and plunging them in cold soil. Just a little TLC will bring much better results.
Before planting out, check over the plants and under the leaves for early signs of greenfly or other pests that can be despatched with suitable treatment, or manually picked before they get a hold.
Think about which plants are most suitable for the sunny and shady spots in your garden.
Busy lizzies, fuchsias, pansies and stocks, for example, do best in shade, whereas geraniums, marigolds, petunias and Livingstone daisies appreciate the sunniest spot you can find.
While thinking of feeding your garden shrubs, remember ericaceous plants, such as rhododendrons, azaleas and camellias need to be able to absorb iron or the leaves gradually turn yellow and the plant looks really poorly.
The easiest way to ensure this doesn’t happen is to feed them with slow-release azalea, camellia
and rhododendron plant food or sequested iron, which is cheaper but less broadly effective.
Just one application of a purpose-made fertiliser will feed your shrubs for the rest of the year with all the three major nutrients plus iron and magnesium for greener leaves.
Roses will be in good leaf and bud and need protecting from mildew and blackspot diseases. Spray the plants thoroughly with a rose-care treatment, which contains a systemic fungicide. If the plants were infected with blackspot last year, regular fortnightly treatments should help avoid the early leaf fall caused by this disfiguring disease.
TOPICAL TIPS
PINCH out the growing tips of fuchsias to create bushy plants which will produce many more flowers..
LAWN CARE
MOW the grass as often as you are able and start to reduce the cutting height of the mower to get to the ideal height for summer. If you cut the grass in summer to a minimum of 20 mm (3/4 of inch) and it is well fed, the lawn will become thick and strong so new weed seedlings don't get a chance to thrive.
At this time, when the grass is growing at its maximum rate, it will soon use up any energy reserves in the soil. If this happens, the grass will lose its vigour and turn pale and look unloved in the process. It will give moss an opportunity to invade, too.
On the other hand, if you use a standard lawn fertilizer which is high in nitrogen you will also have to mow the lawn more often.
Most of us want a greener lawn but prefer not to have to suffer with the extra work of more mowing.
EverGreen Mow It Less Lawn Food, as the name implies, will feed and green-up your grass but doesn’t create a surge of extra grass growth that needs any more mowing than you would have done normally.
If weeds are already a problem, manual removal can be a pain but at least is eco-friendly. A selective weedkiller will kill them off. Verdone Extra is Britain's biggest seller as a selective lawn weedkiller. One application a year is said to give excellent control of all manner of lawn weeds. It kills white clover, daisy, dandelion and plantain, plus it gives good control of the smaller-leaved weeds, such as black meddick, lesser trefoil and common mouse-ear.
TOPICAL TIPS
FOR maximum weed control, apply liquid lawn weedkillers halfway between mowings. Wait three or four days after mowing before application and leave a similar time after treatment before mowing again
GROW YOUR OWN VEGETABLES
IT'S time to start tender green beans into growth, including runner beans, climbing French beans and dwarf bush beans.
Unlike runner beans, climbing French beans and dwarf bush green beans do not need bees for pollination. They also set pods even in hot, dry, summers when runners refuse to set flowers. So for an easy life, or if you are a novice to gardening, it’s probably best to grow climbing or bush green beans first.
Having said that, runner beans are very prolific and if given a deep, cool root run and are picked when small, they make a tasty vegetable for every kitchen.
French beans are more forgiving. They grow in any soil, don’t need a prepared trench and supporting sticks, they set pods whatever the weather and they are less prone to going stringy.
Runners really need a rich soil that has been improved with plenty of well-rotted manure, torn up newspapers and all manner of organic matter well underground.
And they like a moist root run at all times. A sunny spot is good and a wigwam of canes is more stable in a windy garden than a double row of supports that need crossing at the top with a horizontal holding bar along the ridge.
Seeds of both types can be sown where they are to grow, starting in early May. For an earlier crop you can sow seeds in individual pots or cells of April, so your seedling plants are ready to be planted out.
Tomatoes are another crop that warrants attention in May. Preferably you would have sown the seed at the beginning of April but you can always buy seedling plants from your local garden centre in May, which are at just the right stage for planting out.
There’s all manner of garden gate hobby suppliers too, at 50p a throw. Selling surplus for the greater good should be compulsory.
Most people find they get best results if they grow tomatoes in a giant planter full of sterile, fertile, compost, rather than placing them in ordinary garden soil. The only drawback is that container-grown tomatoes will need watering every few days and for some people this is a chore too much.
But, if you are happy to have your tomato crop rely completely on your watering and feeding then you will be blessed with the tastiest tomatoes mother nature can supply.
Those not blessed with a greenhouse can grow toms against the warmth of a south-facing wall or sunny patio. You can also encourage your children to grow all the ingredients for their pizza toppings in similar containers if you make room for some spring onions, peppers, garlic and basil.
It’s time to sow seeds of green salad leaves such as lettuce, endive, rocket, chard, spinach, and mustard together with aromatic herbs such as coriander, basil and parsley. Nowadays you can buy a packet of mixed seed.
Look out for 'French’ mixes for a smattering of chervil and sorrel among green lettuces, corn salad and rocket.
'Italian’ mixes typically include chicory and radicchio and 'Oriental’ types include mizuna and mustards for a spicy taste to your salads. They can be thinly sown in pots of Levington Multi-Purpose Compost or directly in garden soil. When the leaves are about 10cm tall start cutting with a pair of scissors leaving the stumps behind where next month’s crop will emerge.
GROW YOUR OWN FRUIT
STRAWBERRIES and raspberries will need feeding before they start to produce luscious fruits.
TOPICAL TIP
WATCH out for caterpillars on gooseberries and spray with a suitable insecticide as soon as the first of these pests are seen. If left unsprayed they will strip the plant bare of leaves and reduce cropping substantially. Derris dust is a traditional remedy.
PATIO POTS, TUBS AND HANGING BASKETS
DURING the month of May, you will need to plant up your patio pots, tubs and hanging baskets with the fuchsias, geraniums, petunias and other trailing and bush plants that will provide colour for the rest of the summer.
The world is your oyster for tropical favourites which are attractive and perfumed. Just pop along to your local garden centre or nursery and see what new ideas they have on offer.
It’s easy to create cascades of colour to brighten up the drabbest of corners with containers.
The new generation of moisture control compost, which absorbs twice as much water as ordinary compost and will be more forgiving if you forget to water occasionally.
TOPICAL TIP
Lilies growing in pots need to be staked so the stems don’t break. Heavy heads make them especially vulnerable.