May garden advice and maintenance

General gardening

• Watch out for late frosts. Protect tender plants
• Earth up potatoes, and plant any still remaining
• Plant out summer bedding after the last frosts
• Collect rainwater and investigate ways to recycle water for irrigation
• Regularly hoe off weeds
• Lift and divide overcrowded clumps of daffodils and other Spring flowering bulbs
• Watch out for viburnum beetle and lily beetle grubs, if you find them use an insecticide such as Provado Ultimate Bug Killer
• Begin to feed houseplants using a liquid fertiliser
• Continue to plant trees and shrubs
• Mow the lawn regularly. Be careful to remove the cuttings and apply lawn feed regularly. Use a weed and moss killer where necessary
• Weed around fruit bushes and strawberries to allow movement of air around the plants
• Clear out Spring bedding from borders when it fades, and fork in a general fertiliser such as Organic Chicken Manure Pellets or Growmore
• Ensure newly planted plants are kept watered in dry spells

In the greenhouse

• Tie in the lengthening growths of vines
• Continue to plant tomatoes, aubergines and peppers in unheated greenhouses
• Ventilate well and damp down on sunny days as long as seeds are not being raised
• Pinch out side shoots of melons and cucumbers when two side shoots have been formed
• Watch out for pests and treat immediately using either a chemical spray or a biological control

Wildlife gardening

• Put out nesting boxes for migrant birds arriving in the UK
• Top up bird feeders and put out food on the ground and on bird tables. Avoid putting large pieces of food out as this may choke young fledglings
• Keep the bird bath topped up
• Make a log, twig and/or rock pile to create shelter for wildlife
• Put up a bat nesting box
• Plant annuals and perennials that attract bees and butterflies
• Leave informal hedges un-trimmed for a while to provide food and shelter for wildlife