May Gardening To-Do List: Your Essential Spring Checklist 🌿🌸
May is a magical month in the garden. The risk of frost is mostly behind us, plants are bursting with growth, and flowers are beginning to show off their full glory. It’s a time of energy and promise—but also a time to stay on top of tasks so your garden thrives through the summer.
Here’s your essential May gardening to-do list:
🌱 1. Plant Out Tender Crops
May is the green light for planting out tender vegetables and flowers that hate the cold. These include:
- Tomatoes
- Courgettes/zucchini
- Peppers
- Sweetcorn
- Beans (runner, French, etc.)
- Dahlias and cosmos
Wait until after your area's last frost date, then harden off indoor-grown seedlings before planting them out.
🌼 2. Deadhead Spring Bulbs
Once spring bulbs like tulips and daffodils have finished blooming, deadhead the flowers but leave the foliage to die back naturally. This allows the bulbs to store energy for next year’s blooms.
🌿 3. Weed and Mulch
Warm weather means weeds will take off. Get on top of them early:
- Hand weed or hoe regularly.
- Apply a nice layer of our garden mulch around plants to retain moisture and suppress weeds.
🌸 4. Sow and Plant Summer Flowers
Now is the time to sow or plant out:
- Sunflowers
- Nasturtiums
- Marigolds
- Cosmos
- Zinnias
Direct sowing works well now that the soil has warmed up, add our Multi Purpose Compost to give your soil a boost!
🥕 5. Sow Veggies for Succession
Keep the harvest going by sowing fast-growing veg every few weeks:
- Lettuce
- Radishes
- Spinach
- Carrots
- Beetroot
Don't forget to top up your veg plot with our VegeGrow Topsoil.
✂️ 6. Prune Spring-Flowering Shrubs
As soon as flowering finishes, prune shrubs like:
- Forsythia
- Ribes (flowering currant)
- Kerria
Pruning now encourages strong new growth and better blooms next year.
🚿 7. Water Wisely
As temperatures rise:
- Water early in the morning or late evening.
- Focus on the roots, not the leaves.
- Use a watering can or soaker hose to minimise waste.
Newly planted crops and containers may need daily watering in dry spells.
🐞 8. Watch for Pests
Keep an eye out for aphids, slugs, and caterpillars. Try these natural methods:
- Squash aphids by hand or spray with soapy water.
- Use beer traps or copper tape for slugs.
- Attract ladybirds and lacewings with pollinator-friendly plants.
🧹 9. Tidy & Feed
- Trim lawn edges for a sharp look.
- Mow regularly but avoid cutting too short.
- Feed roses and other hungry plants with a balanced fertiliser - check out our range here.
🐝 10. Support Wildlife
- Leave a patch of nettles or wildflowers.
- Keep a shallow dish of water for pollinators.
- Add bee hotels or bird feeders to increase biodiversity.
- Stock up bird feeders during nesting season. Peckish No Grow Seed means no weeds from the waste!
