What should you be doing in your garden this May? Well, normally it's a month for nice weather , so here are some simple suggestions from our gardening team on what you need to do to ensure your garden is being maintained before summer.
Repair patches of lawn with turf
This provides a quicker solution than sowing grass seed. Prepare the bare soil by levelling off with compost or top soil, then firm in the turf. Ensure that foot traffic is kept to a minimum and water regularly. Within a couple of weeks, you will have a lush patch of lawn.
Plant Summer bedding into the garden
If containers and hanging baskets have been grown in the greenhouse, harden the plants off by bringing them outside during the day and under protection at night. Ensure that bedding plants are deadheaded regularly to keep them flowering all summer long.
Keep on top of watering - it is vitally important to keep plants irrigated, particularly in pots
Place saucers under pots with thirsty plants. If you have planted new hedging during the spring, ensure that it is watered regularly during the first year. Install a water butt or make use of grey water during dry spells. Dahlias and hardy annuals that have been grown under glass can be planted into the garden now
Ensure that your plants have been hardened off and that they are planted into pest and weed free soil.
If you haven't had time to sow seed, or plant tubers in a protected environment; no need to worry - you can now plant directly into the garden, your plants will flower a little later.
Check for infestations of aphids on your roses
These can be dealt with by washing them off the buds with a hose onto the soil where they can be dealt with by other beneficial insects. A homemade remedy of soapy water (1 teaspoon of washing up liquid in 3 litres of water) will also control the problem without using harmful pesticides.
Give evergreen hedges a trim
Prune each stem individually on young hedging and only use shears if you have an established hedge.
