With 3 bank holiday weekends this month plus the promise of sunshine and warmer temperatures on the way, there's no better month for getting out and enjoying your garden. Here's my tips for the top 5 gardening jobs this May.
1. Deadhead Spring bulbs
Once the flowers are finished on your Spring bulbs cut the flower stem down to the base but leave the foliage to go yellow before cutting back. This ensures that energy is not wasted on producing seed but goes into the bulb for next year's blooms.
2. Prune Spring shrubs
Prune Spring flowering shrubs like Forsythia and Choisya to control size and encourage an additional flowering (Choisya).
3. Tie in Climbers
Climbers such as Wisteria, Honeysuckle and Clematis will start putting on growth. Tie the stems in as horizontally as possible to fill your vertical spaces using twine in a figure of 8 knot to protect soft stems.
4. Lift and divide
Now is the perfect time to lift and divide clumps of perennials or grasses which have outgrown their space. Create new Luzula, Astrantia and Geranium plants for free.
5. Hoe weeds
Don't let weeds overpower your garden plants and take the nutrients from the soil. Make sure you pull out the whole weed including roots.