May is here and summer is getting closer! Flowers are coming into bloom and there’s lots to do in your garden ready for the summer months. Here are the main May gardening jobs to get cracking on this month.
Clean Garden Furniture
- ➜ If you haven’t done so already clean your garden furniture ready for the sun.
- ➜ Mix in a couple of drops of detergent or washing-up liquid to your bucket of warm water.
- ➜ Using your soft-bristled brush, gently rub the warm soapy water over your furniture set.
Read more with How to Clean your Garden Furniture
Looking After Your Lawn
- ➜ Apply lawn weedkiller.
- ➜ Water during hot weather – Especially with newly seeded lawn.
- ➜ Lower mower blades.
- ➜ Postpone mowing newly sown grass until 3 inches high.
- ➜ Install lawn edging to keep edges tidy and smarten up beds and borders.
- Read more with How to Create a Perfect Lawn
Hanging Basket
- ➜ Begin planting your summer hanging baskets, but they will need protection from frosts until late May/early June.
- ➜Choose bedding plants such as fuchsias, geraniums and verbena.
- Easyplanters are a great options for perfect results, they offer ready-planted into a plastic tray.
Read more with How to plant Hanging baskets
Updating/Filling Your Planter
- ➜ Position your planter before filling and consider the direction it will face, water your plants thoroughly before placing them.
- ➜ Plant the largest plant first, ensuring it is given space.
- ➜ Fill in any gaps with smaller plants.
- ➜ Place each plant into the planter and then firm with soil.
- Read more with How to Plant Flowers in Large Planters
Fruit Garden
- ➜ Protect strawberries with straw (to control weeds and lift the berries off the ground) and netting (to keep birds off the fruit).
- ➜ Harvest rhubarb, picking only one-third of the stems.
- ➜ Keep young fruit trees well-watered for rapid growth.
- ➜ Place netting around soft fruit plants to protect from birds
- Read more How to Grow Fruit trees.
Want to learn What To Plant in May? Read more to learn how to make the most of you garden in May.