May Gardening Programme
May Gardening Programme
Environment team tips for May
- Check for nesting birds before clipping hedgerows.
- Divide up clumps of daffs.
- Water early morning or late in the day to get most out of your water.
- Mow lawns weekly.
- Earth up potatoes.
Tom Greatrex tips, for gardeners.
- You can’t survive by planting flowers. Grow veg.
- Weed every day.
- Don’t let your other half cook with your seed potatoes.
- Keep an eye on the neighbour’s patch as they may know something you don’t.
- When you need help use your family, it’s cheaper.
We have all, I’m sure, been shocked by the way the world has changed so quickly in recent months. It makes you realise how susceptible we can be to change. Those of us who have an outdoor space are fortunate. If you like gardening it’s been good to spend more time in the garden. I will be taking a lot more interest in saving seed and not wasting space, with a lot more veg being grown in future.
Early flowering Spring shrubs have faded, with forsythia and others needing to be cut back quite hard, as they produce flowers on new growth. Once Montana clematis has flowered, you will need to cut out any dead or diseased stems. Variegated evergreen shrubs will have some branches reverting back to green. These need to be cut out or the whole plant will be green. Tie in shoots of rambling and climbing roses. Try to bend these new growths as near to horizontal as possible, so that it will produce more side shoots. Fuchsias can be propagated now. Just cut off some of the new growth and it will readily take. Any plants that have been moved this year will be susceptible to drought, more so than established ones. Make sure they don’t go short of water. On the subject of water, please don’t water established lawns in dry spells as all you will achieve is to bring the root system closer to the surface. At the next dry spell the lawn will dry out quicker and so on until you eventually have to lay a new one.
Divide primulas now and plant in an unused part of the garden, ready to replant in the autumn. Hostas can be divided as soon as new growth emerges. As forget-me-nots start to go over, remove from garden otherwise you will be swamped next spring. They are prolific self seeders.
Give spring flowering bulbs a liquid feed after flowering to encourage them to flower next spring. Like primula, clumps of daffs can be divided and replanted in an unused spot. Please don’t remove the leaves until they die back.
There may not be an open garden event this year which is a great shame because Mr Crump’s garden in Rectory Close is a sight to behold. It just goes to show how good you can be at something you love.
Take care and happy gardening.