Gardening for The First Week of May

 

This is a great time of the year with so many things going on, lots of spring flowers, sowing seeds and planting but all of this has to be matched to the weather we are having! The weather over the last 20 years or so has been getting warmer earlier and whilst traditionally we could expect frost until the end of May we now hardly ever get frosts so late in May. The Saints days between 11^th and 14^th May were all called Ice Saints because farmers knew that there was every chance of a frost on those days!

 

Garden centres are full of summer bedding plants but if you notice most of them are sold from an area undercover! They are not taking any chances! So don’t you take any chances! If you must buy and plant your bedding plants remember that the cold can also give them a check in growth too.

 

 

How many of you have seen those neat front gardens where the daffodils have been tied up in a not to keep then tidy? Please do not do this! If you have daffodils, have them in a less formal area where they can die down naturally. If you want to give them a helping hand, foliar feed them with a feed such as Sangral Seaweed fertilizer. This will be taken into the bulbs forming next years flowers.

 

Worth a visit to see new varieties of plants out this season. Go late in the day when tickets are usually cheaper.

 

 

I took a trip to Covent Garden recently and they are celebrating Spring. They have two large peacock statues and the tail feathers are made up of alpine plants. Also in the area is an allotment with advice on composting, and market stall selling horticultural produce.

 

 

Tune in on Sunday 10am to 12noon for more gardening tips and wrinkles!