Gardener's Diary is a regular feature of Age-Net run by our Deputy Editor

Rosemary Martin

Take care that you don't disturb any nesting birds when you are pruning in the garden.. Continue to put out food for the birds, but not bread or other food as it will attract rats to your neighbourhood!

The RSPB say hygiene is most important for the bird feeders

This can be a distressing time of year when some fledgling birds get separated from their parents. Whilst it is natural to try and save them, they very rarely survive because we can't feed them the constant supply of bugs that their parents do..

Another problem this time of year is when birds fly into windows and kill themselves, because they just don't see the glass.. I now paint marks on the greenhouse windows with a solution of coolglass that seems to work, as last year we had no deaths.

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Jobs for the month - May

The Kitchen Garden

The Kitchen Garden section has now grown so big I have made a separate page for it, here...

House plants

You can still take cuttings from many of your houseplants during May, but first look up in your gardening book to see if it is the correct time of year for cuttings of your particular specimens.

Be vigilant this month for house plant pests such as mealy bug and red spider mite... I bought a house plant a couple of years ago that unbeknown to me was harbouring mealy bug.. This rapidly spread to other plants and I had a devil of a job to eliminate them..

Bedding Plants and hardy annuals

The hardy annuals you have sown directly onto the soil should be up this month, but you need to watch that weeds don't take hold and smother the flower seedlings.. Thin the seedlings out if you think they look too crowded.. Bedding plants should be growing strongly and pricked out into their growing trays. Keep them well watered and covered with fleece at night if frost is expected.. Plant up your hanging baskets early this month, mixing water retaining gel and plant food in with the compost, and keep them in the greenhouse initially to grow on.

By the second week in May all the bedding plants and hanging baskets should be put outside in the garden to harden off, but again do take care that a sudden night frost doesn't kill them all off.. Bring them back into the greenhouse at night if need be..

Lawns

Having removed all the debris out of your lawn either with a rake or an electric scarifier, you now need to give it a 'weed and feed' to eliminate the rest of the moss, kill the weeds and green up the lawn.. This task is made easier with spreaders available for larger lawns and packets with a built-in sprinkler for smaller lawns.. Take care not to miss bits because a light and dark green striped lawn looks decidedly odd!

Shrubs

Prune out any frost damage from affected evergreen shrubs and trim if necessary: cut back tender shrubs and hardy Fuchsia after danger of frosts has past. Prune spring-flowering shrubs after flowering.

Clip evergreen hedges and, if not too woody, shredded clippings can be added to the compost heap. (Not holly hedges though, because the pointed tips of the leaves take years to die down and you will be forever pricking your fingers when gardening) Prune overcrowded stems of Clematis montana once flowering has finished. Ensure newly planted trees and shrubs do not dry out. Take softwood cuttings of deciduous shrubs this month and finally check roses for signs of pests and damage.

Greenhouse

At this time of year all your greenhouse plants can very quickly be lost due to overheating or sudden frosts in an unheated greenhouse.
Move conservatory plants outdoors during warm days but bring back inside if cold nights are expected.
Inspect plants for red spider mite and whitefly and control with appropriate treatments. Apply coolglass to the outside of the glass to prevent temperatures from soaring. Use the hosepipe (or watering can if there is a hosepipe ban in force) to thoroughly dampen down your greenhouse to improve humidity..

Garden Ponds

It is still not too late to have a pond `spring clean` or to make it safe for any visiting children that either you or your neighbour might have, see here.. Keep your pond free of blanket weed by lifting it out with a stick or a rake, but take care not to puncture the pond lining if it is butyl, and of course mind the livestock... Increase the quantity of food you give your pond fish this month.. The general guide to quantity is that any food left floating on the surface after about ten minutes is surplus, so you can easily gauge how much they need..

Wildlife

This squirrel is quite welcome in our garden and does no damage, apart from finding new ways to trash the feeders; I have replaced them all with stainless steel ones now much to his annoyance!

 

 

* There are plenty of measures you can take to keep your plants and lawn healthy in the unlikely event of a dry summer and a hosepipe ban in your area.. See below:

• Use the highest setting on your lawnmower so the grass remains a little longer.
• Don't use the grass box to collect the grass - let it fall on the lawn and it will form a mulch.
• When planting up hanging baskets, mix water retaining gel in with the compost and use the type of hanging baskets with a water reservoir in the bottom. The plants will soon grow and cover the basket itself.
• Connect water butts to your drainpipes and use the water from these butts to water your plants..
• Water the smallest and weakest plants first (such as bedding plants) and water the garden in the early evening after the heat from the sun has died down.
• Using a mulch keeps down weeds and retains valuable moisture in the soil and this is a great time of year to apply it..