Gardening Month by Month - May

MAY GARDENING

May is the month when things really get going in full swing. Your gardening tasks will increase now but so will your pleasure of gardening as the warmer weather and more dry days make life easier.

The birds will be very active by now building nests and feeding their young. This brings the garden to life. Birds can be a problem with regards to any fruit that you intend to grow but protecting the fruit and encouraging the birds is much more rewarding.

The main tasks and priorities this month are:

Gardening in May is when I like to use my cheap and cheerful lawn scarifier to remove the moss from the lawn. It also removes the dead stems and aerates the soil, helping your lawn grow and look much better.

If your lawn is full of moss, then leave this until the end of the month when the grass is growing strongly, then if you're left with loads of moss-cleared patches, they'll fill in much quicker.

The garden pests may decide to start paying your garden a visit now so keep an eye on the roses for signs of aphids and spray as soon as there are any signs.

The larger bulbs like daffodils will now be looking withered and dead, these leaves can be removed but make sure that any green foliage is left undamaged and watch the roots aren't damaged either, they will still be quite fresh at this time of the year.

Seeds, both flowers and vegetables, started in the greenhouse should now be small plants and ready to be transplanted into the garden providing the weather is suitable. Seeds to be sown outdoors can be sown now, again if it's dry enough.