10 gardening tips for May
If you’re wondering what to grow and what to do in the garden in May, check out this video of 10 tips from Eden Project gardener Catherine Cutler.
May is a great time to be in the garden. The longer, lighter days mean you can already start harvesting vegetables like rhubarb. It’s also time to enjoy the garden when the sun comes out.
- Harvest rhubarb to eat.
- Now the frosts have passed, plant out bedding plants.
- Remove weeds by hand, or perhaps with a hoe.
- Protect strawberry plants from rain splashing up against them by surrounding them with straw.
- Put in supports, such as cane wig-wams or twiggy sticks, for climbers and herbaceous plants.
- Control pests by using other insects that feed on them.
- Sow annual wildflowers in gaps. Things like cornflowers and field pansies are nice, providing a riot of colour in the summer - and they seed themselves for the following year.
- Encourage bushy growth from plants propagated last autumn by pinching out the tips.
- Take cuttings from and propagate tender perennials (perennials are plants which come back year after year; tender plants are ones that can't last the winter outdoors).
- Amid all the many jobs, don’t forget to take some time out and enjoy your garden!
With thanks to Catherine Cutler.
