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In your ornamental garden in May 2013

At last, it’s warmer, and best of all - May is here! Lots to do of course, but so much to enjoy. Long evenings, grass like green velvet, trees shimmering with their new livery. And everywhere you look – blossom.  

We’ve had a long wait, but it’s been much worse for the creatures we rely on for pollination and pest control. This long cold spring has been a bleak time for bees in particular. Below you’ll find some ideas to make sure your garden is a year-round feeding station for those all-important insects.

The beautiful blossom of May

Contents

Ceanothus


Tied honeysuckle

Trimmed phormium

General tasks

May gardening jobs often divide fairly neatly into two sections – those for the first half of the month, and those for the second half. But it’s all down to the weather and your locationin in the UK – specifically soil and air temperatures. And of course the long winter has left the soil so much cooler than usual at this time of year. If your weeds are growing well, with dandelions flowering, then your soil temperature is fine for seed sowing. If dandelions are still not doing much, just be patient a little longer.

First half of the month

Second half of the month

New seedlings can scorch
New seedlings can be scorched

Greenhouse

Lawn and hedge care

In extremis, dispose of via your green waste bin.

Be aware! Some lawn weedkillers contain a chemical that, while not damaging grass, binds to grass particles and will not break down easily. If grass clippings are added to the compost heap, or even composted separately, the weedkiller can still be present in the material after it is apparently completely decomposed. It will damage many vegetables and ornamental plants when used around the garden.

Organic gardeners should of course not use weedkillers on lawns, but readers of these pages might not all be organic gardeners!   

Find out more about this damaging weedkiller here and how you can help to improve matters

Pond management

What to plant in May

Bee Heard

Bees are much in the news. Whatever happens at an international  level, we gardeners can help not only by keeping our gardens free from pesticides, but by providing nectar-rich flowers year-round. So choose, plant and grow, bee-useful plants this May. Here are some suggestions:

Winter flowering plants

Viburnum bodnantense and V. farreri – lovely shrubs, in flower from November until March, beautifully scented, providing a good food source even in the depths of winter.

WInter flowering heathers
Winter flowering heathers

Winter flowering heathers tolerate alkaline soil and will provide flowers from autumn until the following spring. Main colour range - white, pink,  red and purple/mauve. Recommended:  Erica x darleyensis ‘Lucie” (magenta flowers); E carnea ‘Springwood White’ (trailing white);  E vivellii(bronze foliage, purplish flowers); E x darleyensis ‘Darleydale’ (pinkish purple). Specialist nurseries will have plenty to choose from.

Mahonia japonica and M bealei. Long spikes of scented yellow flowers from autumn to spring. Tolerate most growing conditions.

Helleborus niger – the well-known ‘Christmas Rose’. Many colours, easily available and delightful through the winter months.

Plants for hot dry conditions.

Grey-leafed plants. Leaves look ‘grey’ as they are covered with a fine layer of hairs. This pale-coloured layer helps reflect the sun, and also traps a layer of humidity, reducing water loss. In some cases leaves also have a waxy coating, which also retains moisture. Many of these plants come from hot countries where rain hardly falls during the hot season, and watering is not practical. Try some of the following:

Perovskia atriplicifolia
Perovskia atriplicifolia

Lavender and rosemary (adored by bees)  are well known, but how about Convolvulus cneorum, or Stachys lanata (Lamb’s ears).Helichrysum petiolareNepeta x faassenii (Catmint), Perovskia atriplicifolia (Russian sage), Santolina chamaecyparissus, Eryngium, Echinops, Osteospermum jucundum.  These are ideal plants for sunny gardens with dry, sandy soil. Helichrysum is often sold for hanging baskets/containers, but it grows quite happily in the open ground, meandering nicely across a border.

Useful annuals

Rudbeckia, Linum, Dimorphotheca, Calendula, Cosmos, Eschscholzia, Tagetes, Zinnia, Cerinthe major, Borage, Coriander (let it flower), Limnanthes douglasi (Poached egg plant), Nigella (Love-in-a-mist) Phacelia, These are all easy to grow, very attractive, excellent wildlife attractants, and require little watering once established. The Organic Gardening Catalogue has many choices of bee-useful flowers. Look for the bee symbol alongside the plant names.

For more information about bee-useful plants go to the British Beekeepers Association at http://www.bbka.org.uk/learn/general_information/useful_leaflets_to_download
An excellent reference book with superb lists of plants of all sorts for most wildlife is ‘Wildlife Gardening’ by Fran Hill ISBN 1871444004. If you buy it via Amazon, remember to use the link across from the GO Homepage.

Hanging baskets

A well-planted basket is a delight but they need daily watering, even when it’s raining. Last year was not too much of a problem (!), but should we get dryer conditions this year, here are some ideas to make sure your basket remains floriferous.

Water-saving ideas for baskets:

Other plants for May
This is the best month for planting or dividing grasses and bamboos. These plants only grow new roots in late spring and early summer, so now and into June is when to plant. They tolerate dryness, as long as they are well-watered at first. But of course, wait until your soil is warm enough before planting.

Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola'
Hakonechloa macra
'Aureola'
Milium effusum 'Aureum'
Milium effusum
'Aureum'
Deschampsia flexuosa 'Tatra Gold'
Deschampsia flexuosa
'Tatra Gold'
Miscanthus sinensis
Miscanthus sinensis
 

Cuttings before and after preparation
Cuttings before and after preparation

Cuttings before and after preparation
Cuttings inserted into pot

Cuttings before and after preparation
Rooted cuttings

Make new plants

Easy Perennials

This section gives you our suggestions of perennial plants that will look good or are looking good now, are easy to grow and fairly free of pest and disease, making them a good bet for an organic garden. All plants marked with a * indicates an Award of Garden Merit (AGM) from the RHS.

Feature on Bamboo

Popular plants, they are easy to find and architecturally useful in the garden. They may seem expensive to buy, as they are fairly difficult to propagate. Once planted and settled in they grow easily and seem to be entirely free of pest and disease.

Greenfly symptoms
Greenfly symptoms

Pest and disease watch

Here come the predators!

Garden Organic has produced a factsheet called Attracting Beneficial Insects (requires members' password) which lists the top ten insect friendly plants that every gardener should know about.

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