What To Do In The Garden In May

“How beautiful are the rosy footsteps of May! She scatters in her path the sweetest flowers of nature, and everywhere breathes fragrance and joyousness…”  Spring feels like it’s been a very long time coming but May in the garden is the reward for our patience. There’s colour, scent, fruit, and new life bursting out everywhere at last. I know I say this about most months, but May is quite possibly my favourite in the gardening calendar. So, let’s take a look at this month’s garden tasks and what to do in your garden in May.

What To Do In The Garden In May

As my monthly garden updates are usually quite long (this one is 2,000+ words, you have been warned), I break them down into sections: flowers, vegetables, fruits, jobs, wildlife. So, while I hope you’ll enjoy this month’s garden tasks and all my May gardening tips, please feel free to skip ahead to whatever you want to read about most too 🙂

The Flower Garden in May

Spring flowering shrubs and bulbs are having a moment this month. Most of the daffodils are over with the exception of some beautiful, fragrant little Narcissi planted last Autumn. This year I’m not dead heading though (pinching off just behind the seed heads but leaving the stalks and leaves intact to continue feeding the bulbs for new flowers next year). I’m going to let them self-seed and see what happens.

Our Bluebells have naturalised very happily throughout our orchard and garden too.

And our Tulips are providing some amazing colour in pots, borders, and naturalised in the grass.

It’s lovely to see so many colours: orange, pink, purple and red. My particular favourite is the little pink Species Tulip (middle picture below) with three blooms on one stem. This is a feature of species tulips, which are smaller than your average garden tulip, and are more perennial too.

If you’re looking for plants that are easy to grow and need zero maintenance, it has to be Irises. We have lots in pots and around our pond. My favourites are the true blues giving life to our garden in May.

Other Spring blooms come from our Viburnum Opulus Roseum at the front of the house. Nicknamed the snowball bush, the blooms start off pale green and over time turn white, a stunning contrast with the bright green leaves. And they work beautifully as cut flowers mixed in with some fragrant pale purple sprigs from our Lilacs.

While on the subject of scented plants, our Lily of the Valley, Erysimum Bowles Mauve Wallflower, and Choisya are filling our garden and orchard with fragrance.

I can’t believe it’s only a year ago that I shared our garden design for some new herbaceous borders. Everything has established so well, particularly the perennial ground covering plants like the pretty Ajuga, also known as Buglewort, self-seeding Forget-Me-Knots, and Geranium macrorrhizum ‘Bevan’s Variety’. All low zero maintenance plants, and you can lift some of the Forget-Me-Knots if you don’t want them to multiply uncontrollably (I’m fine with this though).

Speaking of ground cover plants, we’re lucky to have some white flowering Dead Nettles and yellow flowering Archangels in different parts of our garden, which the bees love. I do need to pull them both up from time to time though, as they’re quite invasive and can take over if ignored.  Tip: you know the Dead Nettle won’t sting you as their elongated heart-shaped leaves are quite different to the real Stinging Nettle‘s more oval, toothed leaves.

Other wildflower plants in our May garden that the pollinators love are the frothy Cow Parsley and self-seeded yellow Welsh Poppies in our woodland area and orchard. Tip: if you cut Cow Parsley for your vases, sear the ends in boiling water to lessen the inevitable petal shower on your table.

By our wildlife pond we have a couple of new plants that I didn’t plant and have no idea where they’ve come from. I’m very happy to welcome both the Dicentra Pacific and the blue flowering Bugloss though. And over in a woodland border among the ferns. we have a new pink flowering Silene, which I did plant, and which I hope will be very happy in her new home.

May gardening sees the Magnolia beginning to go over but she’s still beautiful. Fun fact: Magnolia flowers are edible, with a slightly gingery flavour (although some people are allergic, so do be careful). And there are new flowers on one of our Rhododendrons. We inherited them from our home’s previous owners, and they were dying in tiny pots. Fast forward a few years and after some time in the ground, both flowering shrubs are doing much better.

Last, but not least, here’s a shot of the blossom on my favourite Japanese Cherry tree. She’s an ornamental rather than a fruiting variety, but the fragrance from her little flowers is absolutely gorgeous and we’ve been loving them in our bedside posies!

The Vegetable Garden in May

Our January-sown Broad Beans* are growing away happily outside, and as soon as I see the first beans forming below, I’ll pinch out the top tips to deter black fly. (The blue pots on canes are to prevent eye injuries when bending down to inspect or harvest). Behind them are some Mange Tout that I cheated and bought as seedlings. (The green cage is to protect them from marauding pigeons).

Over in the greenhouse the French Beans* and Sweetcorn* should be ready to plant out shortly.

And our favourite ‘Rainbow Blend’ F1 Hybrid tomatoes* and Burpless Tasty Green cucumbers* are ready for potting on before I move both the tomato plants and the cucumber vines into grow bags in the greenhouse a few weeks’ time. The Courgettes* will be ready to plant out in the veg plot soon too, and I’m going to grow some Calendula* flowers alongside to attract beneficial insects such as bees who will also pollinate the courgette flowers.

Still at the early stages are the Carrots*, Spring Onions*, and Cucamelons* (the latter are still indoors). Tip: protect carrots from carrot fly by planting them alongside spring onions as the smell of the onion masks the smell of carrot.

While on the subject of onions, our Wild Garlic is ready to harvest now. I use the leaves for pesto and the flowers for a decorative garlicky hit in salads. And in true potager garden fashion, I’m growing Fennel in our flower beds as I cut the feathery fronds for foliage fillers in our vases as well as using them in the kitchen.

Last, but not least, I have a couple of Chilli plants and a tender Verbena – I’ll be potting them on in due course but I’ll keep them in the greenhouse rather than outside. Verbena leaves make a delicious tea as well as smelling amazing. Tip: open greenhouse doors and vents on warm days, but close them in the evening as nights can still be cold

The Fruit Garden in May

Fruit in May is within touching distance of harvesting already – I’ll be pulling some Rhubarb for a fruit crumble this weekend. Tip: always pull the stalks, never cut them as that could introduce a disease.

We’re hopefully looking at a good Summer harvest of Apples, Pears, and Cherries.

As well as some juicy Blackcurrants and Gooseberries.

The harsh Winter means fewer Kiwis this year, but the Figs and Damsons seem to be coming through relatively unscathed.

And there are plenty of flowers on the Raspberry vines and Wild Strawberries for some good crops this Summer too.

Our edible scented Pelargoniums overwintered in our conservatory and, after a brief spell acclimatising in the greenhouse, they’re now outside the kitchen door for easy access – we pick their leaves for herb teas and flowers for cake/salad decorations. Tip: you should always harden off any tender plants raised indoors by putting them outside during the day and bringing them back in at night to protect from late frosts or cold.

General May Gardening Jobs

Gardening in May centres around tying in new growth, and keeping on top of the weeding. Our Sweet Peas* are romping away outside now, as is the Bindweed at the bottom of our orchard. Almost impossible to eradicate as the roots go so deep, I think, reluctantly, I’m going to have to resort to a topical weedkiller before the shoots of this festering perennial weed take over and smother all our other plants down there.

Also high up on my May gardening to do list is to sow even more hardy annuals for summer flowering bedding plants. Over in the greenhouse only one of my favourite Spanish Lavender seeds has sprouted, and only two neon pink Nasturtiums*. But now the soil is warming up, I’ll be direct sowing some wildflowers in any bare patches of ground.

May planting can also include creating hanging baskets, although not in our household because I always forget to water them (!). And they aren’t only for decorative flowers either, try some edible orange calendulas or violets. Cherry tomatoes and strawberries both do very well in containers too. You just need to remember to give them a liquid feed every 10 days or so as they’ll exhaust the nutrients in their baskets quite quickly.

May lawn care is very easy this month. We’re supporting Plant Life’s No Mow May Challenge by leaving patches of our orchard uncut, including around all our fading Spring flowering bulbs. And I’m fighting a losing battle with our dandelions, which have all turned into Hydras. Every single one of those little seeds on every single flower head will be forming a new plant…

BUT, silver linings, I recently found a recipe for dandelion honey and I have to say, it is absolutely DELICIOUS. A slightly herbal taste and more like syrup than honey as I clearly didn’t boil it for long enough. But very definitely honey, with the added bonus it’s good for vegans too as no bees were involved.

May Gardening For Wildlife

One of easiest ways we support the wildlife in our garden is by keeping our bird feeders topped up with quality wild bird food* and high energy fat balls* on a daily basis. This helps keep the garden birds well-fed all year round, particularly now they’re nesting and raising young. Another good way to look after wildlife is to put up a bee house or bug hotel* – and it’s not only solitary mason bees that use ours, a little spider has set up her home too.

Over in our main wildlife and fish pond, it’s time to remove the duckweed and blanket weed before they cover the surface of the water entirely. Pond tip: leave any removed weed beside your pond overnight to allow insects, snails, and other pond creatures to escape back into the water before you dispose of it.

Meanwhile, the seething masses of tadpoles are getting stronger, although their frog parents have retreated to the tranquillity of one of our smaller ponds.

If you’re looking for more ideas and tips to encourage and support wildlife, I have a whole post about easy ways to make your garden more wildlife friendly that may help.

Our Garden In May

And that concludes my fifth garden post of 2023. If you made it all the way to the end, massive congratulations and thank you! I hope you’ve found it a useful guide and reminder of things to do in your garden in May. And that you’ll join me next month for my June garden update, at the start of the Summer season. In the meantime, may I wish you as peaceful a May, as our cats clearly intend theirs to be 🙂 =/\/\=

Did you enjoy your virtual visit to our garden and orchard this May? Have I given you any ideas or inspiration for your own outside space, whether that’s a large garden or a small window box? What was your favourite photo or tip?

* This post features affiliate links but all opinions are my own (see my Disclaimer).