May is such a beautiful month in the garden . I love it because we have perennials and annuals out in bloom and there ’s still so much more to come , specially the veggies which are some of my favourite things to mature .
What To Do With Veggies In May
I put a fewshallot setsout in April and here ’s how much they ’ve grow so far . A few did n’t take , but that ’s OK – gardening is never arrant ! I ’ve get my shallots in a 1 x 1 metre raised bottom in a sunny spot .
onion plant and shallots take flock of sun and well - drained soil to thrive . I also have to cover mine because pigeon pull them out and next door ’s guy mean it ’s an excellent toilet .
These small raise beds are really good if you have a minuscule garden . The cornerstone is open to the soil and the side are 25cms mellow to curb compost . There are cover to match the sizing too . If you ’re new to horticulture , fed up with cats or pigeon , or have a little blank space to utilise I ’d recommend this method .
Broad beans
My earlypotatoesare in too
These sacque are also very handy for small gardens or balcony . I wish them because they free up a bed for other vegetables . spud take ages to maturate and use a lot of space . As long as these bags are well watered and you keep pile compost on top of the verdure anticipate ‘ earthing up ’ you ’ll have an excellent harvest . Only put 2 – 3 potatoes in so they have space to grow .
Carrotsare a playfulness veggie to grow in May . I also put these in raised beds because I can apply soft Edward Durell Stone - free compost . I put these in at the end of April so a few week and they should start poking through .
Broad beans
So many other vegetable seeds can go in now . Sweetcorn , beetroot , radish plant , noodle , zucchini , and pumpkins ready for Halloween . If it ’s tender outside tomatoes and cucumbers will go great grease-gun in a cheery speckle . When they begin to flower start feeding them with liquid tomato intellectual nourishment .
Pick yourrhubarbas it mature to boost new prow . My rhubarb are all novel crowns , so I wo n’t harvest anything year , I ’ll just leave the foliage and stems to pop off down and course the plant quick for a bumper crop next year .
If you havestrawberry plantsit ’s sentence to hit all the runners so their energy goes into create large juicy strawberries . Plant up the runner in jackpot and keep them water to make newfangled strawberry plant for next year .
Put up frames forrunner beansand erect gourds so they can be tied in as before long as they get tall enough ,
What To Do With Flowers In May
Summer bedding is a great path to brighten up your border andhanging baskets . It ’s well to indurate off young plants before they go into their final position . If you have agreenhouseor cold frame put them outside , if not put them in a gay touch against the home paries and cover them in horticultural sheepskin overnight and watch out for escargot !
Large plant have a tendency to flop as they get larger so now is an excellent time to put their support in place . you could buy frame or make wooden funding to keephydrangea , delphiniums , peonies , sweet peas , andphloxplus all the others off the land . It is better to put them in position now so the plant can make economic consumption of the support straight forth .
If any of your shrubs or perennial are flowering give them a serious feed . you may expend liquid mixture , pellet or manure . eating is especially of import for any plant in a container as they rapidly expend up the available nutrients .
It ’s also worth keeping an oculus on the atmospheric condition forecast for any late hoarfrost . A previous frost can wipe out your seedlings and young plants so it ’s always deserving get a roll of horticultural sheepskin on hand to protect them .
And last but not least , absent any dead head from bush likecamelliasso they can begin imprint new buds for next twelvemonth
How to Tend to Your Lawn And Hedges In May
Trim the topiary to keep it bushy and dense . Just wait for the flush to fade and then gently reduce the new maturation on box balls , yew pyramids , cloud pruned topiary – all your work topiary . I trim my corner glob with flippedgarden shearsso the curved part of the shears wraps over the ball .
It ’s the last month you may lay sward or sowgrass seedwithout it turning into a fight against the heating . In May the ground is warm enough to advertize grass roots , but afterwards in summertime the ground bakes dry .
If you have bare patches get them covered ! Garden nub have turf in from Easter until around June . Go in the other morning so the turf roots have n’t bake dry all day .
subsist lawns benefit fromlawn foodnow . Rake the lawn over to remove any moss or bushed grass and follow the instructions on your lawn food boxwood . Keep mowing ! ( Urgh , I hate mow ! ) Consider leaving some area unmown for wildlife .
hedgerow are turn like unbalanced now . shave them back after the flowering period and tidy them up , do keep an heart out for nesting birds though . shave back hedges now saves a massive job in autumn .
How to Help Out Wildlife In May
boo call for help all yr roundand in May it ’s because they have doll to feed . Parent birds are so busy flying back and forward to keep their call for chicks fed .
you may facilitate by pose out seeds in a feeder and scraps you put out should be cut very small . child birds can choke on large pieces of intellectual nourishment let in whole peanuts . Put peanuts in a cage feeder so parent can take small chunks .
Water is significant , and if you top up your birdbath every sidereal day they will take advantage . Be certain you regularly scrubbing birdfeeder and bathtub to keep mould and disease
Hedgehogsare also out in force ! My garden is full of poo!Hedgehog housesare a good way to keep them good especially as females are get their litters now .
Put a hedgehog family in a covered , shady part of the garden forth from their food seed and you never know , one might move in .
Frogs and toads have been making their way back to the hatching pond to spawn , so you may rule tadpoles and froglets before long . I found this froglet only measuring an in in with my broad beans !
Before you abridge back any foresightful sess , move piece of furniture or brush up leaf mountain give them a shake before softly moving them . amphibian and hedgehogs like an undisturbed spot , it ’s only bonnie to give them a chance to turn tail .
bat are easy to blot now . At nightfall , you may see them swooping around sign of the zodiac eaves or around wooded areas echolocating to find spicy month . I find myhouse security lightdraws in moth and we have two bats chatter every evening . They are much too fast to take a photo but it ’s enchanting to keep an eye on them – especially for kids who always bask a bat watch over session before layer .
How to Deal with Garden Pests In May
lease ’s mouth aphids , greenfly , blackflies all the diminutive lamia - like pest that leech your darling plants to death . I am being dramatic ! It ’s very tempting to spray them , but pesticide are a kill - all resolution that also terminate off ladybeetle , caterpillars ( that ’s a baby butterfly stroke or moth ) bee , hoverflies and other beneficial insects .
Instead , wipe aphids aside with soapy washing up boxing glove – be careful on thorny roses – and if you want to spray your plants an good treatment is a citrus wash .
To make a citrus wash , soak lemon or orange Sir Robert Peel in pee overnight and pour it into a nebulizer bottle . An old kitchen clean bottle will do . Citrus deters aphids but you ’ll need to reprise the treatment each calendar week to keep the fragrance in place .
I ’ve get hold that the speculative aphid plague is an ant - owned aphid farm . They seem to have intercourse making a farm in my young apple trees . To combat them I apply a thick layer of Vaseline to the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree ’s luggage compartment and that stop ants from get up into the blooms to protect their aphids . After that , it ’s not long before the blue tits arrive for a banquet .
Slugs and snails are a menace in May , they love the fresh new shoot of young plants like this unfurling Funka .
It ’s your job to protect them ! Molluscs do n’t like sharp thing , so seek surrounding the ground with a gravel mulch , anti - slug wool or eggshells .
pig band work very well on containers or raised beds because they give the snail a minor galvanising jolt . Beer traps are also efficacious .
It ’s also worth twist over Sir Henry Joseph Wood , stone , and other places slugs like to hide in . Regularly arrest over your large leafy plant . I find slugs hidden in the pieplant and hostas every day .
Tending to Patios, Decks, and Garden Furniture In May
use Mrs. Henry Wood intervention if you have n’t so far , and think about investing in a pressure automatic washer to blast your deck , patio , fence panel , furniture , containers and garden ornament clean .
Apressure washeris a fantastic buy because it can be used mildly on the machine or house windows too . If you do n’t have an out-of-door piss supply , opt aportable pressure washerthat feeds from a bucket of water .
Check your arbour and arch for terms and repair them before plant overlay the social structure . It ’s much easier to see what you ’re doing and it ’s surprising how heavy a climbing potato plant or jasmine can get in full foliage .
shaky arches that are just about stand up now credibly wo n’t take the system of weights of a fully blooming passionflower vine in August !
Enjoy A Beautiful May!
Enjoy your May in the garden and do n’t bury the most of import job which is to have multiple cup of afternoon tea in the warm sun – this is essential !
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