Top 10 jobs this month

1. Now is the time to plant colourful perennials with new season plants now ready at our garden centres.

• 2. Remember to stake tall growing perennials with plant rings before they get too high.

• 3. Earth up potatoes and plant any remaining tubers as soon as possible.

• 4. Sow herbs, kohl rabi, lettuce, mangetout peas, marrow, melon, pak choi, parsnip, pea, radish, spinach, spring onion, swede, sweetcorn, turnip, beans, broccoli, cabbage and carrot. There is still time to get ahead by planting our beans, tomato, cucumber, courgette and aubergine vegetable plants.

• 5. Plant up hanging baskets or take advantage of the free planting service on our hanging basket weekend.

• 6. Hoe off weeds. Use Roundup or SBK brushwood killer for difficult weeds.

• 7. May is a good time to lift and divide overcrowded bulbs.
  

• 8. Hang pheromone traps in apple trees. Research shows that hanging bird feeders in the area will reduce aphid populations on your fruit bushes.

• 9. Strip off the top layer of compost in containers and top dress with fresh John Innes number 3 compost and Miracle Gro slow release granules.

• 10. Apply Evergreen Complete lawn feed & weed treatment to your lawn now and take advantage of the May instore offers.

Garden Diary

May

Weather is considerably better but there is still the threat of frost till at least the end of the month. However it can be hot and dry in May.

Flowers and Bedding

It should be safe to put out summer bedding at the end of the month. However do be prepared to cover them with a layer of fleece if frost threatens. Mulch sweetpeas and tie in as they grow. Dead head bulbs and allow the leaves to die down naturally. Weed beds.

Perennials

Plant out Dahlia plants and protect from frost. Plant out Chrysanthemums. Stake and support the taller growing plants. Water if necessary.

Shrubs and Climbers

Plant Arbutus, Choisya, Fuchsia and Hydrangea.Plant evergreens in showery weather. Mulch Lilacs. Trim shrubs that have finished flowering. Clip formal bays. Dead head rhododendrons and azaleas.

Trees and Hedges

Trim Lonicera and privet hedges.Trim Ribes and Forsythia hedges after flowering. Plant evergreens during showery weather.

Roses

Continue to spray and weed.

Lawn

Keep feeding  and mowing.

Vegetables

Protect potato foliage from frost. Prepare beds for outdoor tomatoes, marrows and pumpkins. Sow french beans and runner beans,summer spinach and salad.

Fruit

Keep a good eye out for pests and diseases and treat as appropriate. If it is dry water plants on which fruit is swelling. Continue to spray and control weeds. Tie in new growth on bush fruit. Put down strawberry mats to protect the fruit from slugs. Start summer pruning vines.

Pond

Continue planting water plants and marginals. Remove algae and pond weed with a stick or net. If possible flood the pond occasionally to keep bog plants wet.

Greenhouse

Apply shading. Sow cucumbers, melons, and sweet corn. Pot on begonias and Gloxinias. Continue to water and feed well. Pot cannas on.Support tomatoes as they grow and pinch out the side shoots.

Indoors

Continue watering and feeding freely. Prepare positions to move out Cymbidiums, pelargoniums, azaleas and other plants that will benefit from spending the summer outside.