 | | Colin Evans - Chelsea Flower Show 2007 |
May is a lovely time of the year and signs of summer are everywhere. The days are getting longer and some of them are warmer than others, but then, that is May. There is much colour and fragrance about the garden now and the plants that seemed forever dormant are now in full leaf and blossom. The weather now is more reliable now than in April and you can put out the summer hanging baskets because all should be well with frosts out of the way. Although a warm day can sometimes mean a clear night and that is when the damage is done, so keep an eye on the weather forecast just in case of a late cold snap. As always, in May, I spent a day at The Chelsea Flower Show on press day which is the first Monday of the show and was fired with enthusiasm to get home and get some more plants into the garden. ________________________________________________ See the photos of the Chelsea Flower Show here: ________________________________________________ I just love roses but find them dull in the winter and a little too vicious when working around them, but the thornless varieties have encouraged me to find some room in my flower beds to include these most English of flowering shrubs. There are so many varieties now that it would be impossible not to find one that would grace your own garden. So have a go and if you don't have room then get a couple of patio types and plant them in pots. Plant of the week: | | Kolkwitzia Amabilis |
Kolkwitzia Amabilis or Beauty Bush will be making its buds now ready for a great pink display in the next two weeks. It likes a sunny position and most freely draining soils and can be pruned to shape once it has flowered. Its dusty deep pink flowers are a great lure for most insects, and the small birds in the garden will feast on the on the small harmless insects which the plant attracts. Herbs, Parsnips, early Carrots and Runner Beans can all be sown outside now. Prepare a seedbed by finely raking to a tilth and then firm with the back of a rake. Make shallow drills with the side of the rake and sow the seed thinly along the rows. Fill in with a little soil and firm with the back of the rake once again. Water using a can with a fine rose and seeds should be showing within three weeks. Keep hanging baskets well fed and watered and keep in a cold greenhouse until next month. If some of the plants begin to make rapid growth then just pinch out the growing tips to encourage branching and thickening. Any weeds that appear should be removed once seen as these will take valuable moisture and nutrient from the compost. If summer bedding plants are being hardened off outside then they must be covered or brought inside if frost warnings are given. This goes for newly planted shrubs and germinated seeds also. If you want great tomatoes then get the seed sown as soon as you can. Just sprinkle some seed onto trays or into pots and just cover over with a little compost. Keep sheltered either in the green house or on a windowsill and prick the seedlings out into individual pots when they are at the two leaf stage. Once the plants have made good growth then they can either be planted straight into the ground or into pots. I recommend 'Shirley F1 Hybrid' or 'Alicante' for good upright plants or for smaller spaces, the cherry types are very good. Go for 'Tumbler' or 'Tom Thumb'. These will yeild very heavy crops and will keep going all summer, they can even be planted into hanging baskets. Happy Gardening! | 
