May

General

Continue weeding, very important.

Tidy up tulips, after flowering, once the foliage has died.

Tidy up and remove daffodil leaves, they pull away easily. As bulbs die back insert short sticks to mark their location.

Tidy up cordylines and phormiums by cutting off damaged leaves.

Tidy up by removing the tatty growth after flowering from epimeduims, pulmonaria, arabis, aubretia and yellow alyssum.

Tie in new shoots of climbers and walls shrubs; train some rose branches horizontally to encourage more flowers.

Check that tall perennials are adequately supported

Planting and Pruning

Plant summer bulbs, corms and tubers.

Plant up hanging baskets, window boxes and patio pots. Mix in a slow release fertiliser to the compost, when planting terracotta pots, soak the pot before hand. This prevents the porous pot from removing moisture from the compost.

Before pruning check for nesting birds and wait if necessary.

Prune back ivy on fences and walls, windows, roof tiles and gutters, allow for at least a seasons growth.

Lawn

Lawn maintenance continues;

Cut lawns weekly; reduce the cutting height of the blades.

Remove the weeds, for rosette shaped weeds use a daisy grubber a tool designed for the specific purpose, for dandelions see April. For other weeds use a lawn spot weed killer.