When the April showers give way to May flowers, you really know that the gardening season is upon us!
Our gardens suddenly burst to life with the warmer weather and moist soil. For long lasting colour and as an excellent filler and ground cover, we love geranium ‘Rozanne’, a hardy geranium that is low-growing and likes to spread and intermingle with neighbouring foliage, giving the garden a sense of maturity.
For a little romance, Peonies are fabulous flowers in May, whose large showy blooms are a favourite for flower arrangements. Peonies are sun-lovers and perform best when they get at least 6 hours of sunlight per day. The more sun they get, the better they’ll bloom, so plant your peonies in the sunniest location possible.
Peonies are carefree plants that are rarely troubled by pests or disease. It takes at least two to three years for a young peony plant to get established, but once it has settled in, it will bloom reliably year after year.
Although they don’t flower for long, we still recommend growing Lilac in the garden, their beautiful pink, pale purple or white flowers have a delicious scent that attracts bees and pollinators.
Geums have become hugely fashionable in recent years with the introduction of a host of new, ultra long-flowering varieties with blooms in the prettiest of colours.
Hardy and tolerant, this pretty herbaceous perennial is happy in either full sun or partial shade and grows well in fertile, moist but free-draining soil. An added bonus is that Geums are said to be slug, deer and rabbit resistant!
A classic climber for May colour is Wisteria, the essence of an English spring/ early summer garden. Its a good idea to purchase your Wisteria whilst in flower, if at all possible, so you know it will flower early and you can see the size and colour of the flowers.
May is one of the busiest times in the garden with weeding, sowing, growing, planting and planning.
Take some time out to appreciate the beautiful blooms and scents that hint at lovely long, romantic evenings in the garden.
KEEP ON TOP OF WEEDS
The conditions in May are ideal for weeds to thrive. Once they are established, they will self seed and multiply!
Suggestions to control your weeds:
- Dig out weeds completely, including the roots. If you leave even a scrap of root behind, it can re-grow.
- Cover weeds with a very thick mulch or black plastic. This deprives them of light so they can’t photosynthesise and eventually die off.
- Use weedkillers, either as a spray or a topical application, such as a gel.
Hoe your weeds regularly to stop the seeding.