Garden Jobs in May

There are plenty of jobs to do this month

• Protect plants if night frosts are forecast.
• Water plants that need it regularly.
• Prune spring-flowering shrubs that have finished flowering.
• Take softwood cuttings of shrubs.
• Lightly trim box and other formal hedging.
• Prune Clematis montana after flowering.
• Take cuttings from herbaceous perennials.
• Clear pots and containers for summer plants.
• Pinch out shoots on grapevines.
• Cut back and divide spring-flowering perennials.
• Plant out dahlias at the end of the month.
• Protect young plants from slugs.
• Clear out spring bedding, and begin hardening off summer bedding plants.
• Feed fish regularly, and also give a special aquatic fertiliser to water plants.
• Feed and weed lawns to encourage good growth, as well as mowing regularly.
• Sow and plant tender vegetables at the end of the month.
• Protect crops from carrot fly.
• Continue successional sowing of vegetables.
• Remove all frost protection from fruit trees and start pruning trained plums and cherries.
• Ventilate greenhouses and conservatories.
• Last chance to sow or turf new lawns before it gets too dry.
• Finish planting evergreen shrubs.
• Inspect plants regularly for signs of pests and diseases, and nip potential problems in the bud.