Some garden plants you can grow which have ‘May’ in their name includes May Bush (Spiraea cantoniensis), Wild May (Leptospermum polygalifolium), The Mayflower (which is a hardy David Austin bush rose), and ‘May Night’ (a lovely purple salvia).
The month also celebrates Wild Koala Day (May 3), Star Wars Day (May the Fourth), Mother’s Day (May 10), International Day of Families (May 15), World Baking Day (May 17), and National Simultaneous Storytime (May 27).
For gardeners, it’s when you need to get cracking with your pre-winter chores while there’s still warmth in the sun.
As the limerick goes …
“We’re in the sweet season of May,
When the summer-time heat slips away.
With clear, sunny skies,
Bushy tails and bright eyes,
It’s the best time to dance and to play.”
(… it’s also National Limerick Day on May 12)
• If your sweet pea seedlings are looking a little worse for wear due to all the rain, it’s not too late to replace them with new ones – try the dwarfing varieties.
• Grass growth will be starting to slow down now but weeds still grow. Keep on top of weeds, especially nutgrass, clover and tropical chickweed.
• Bare rooted roses will be in stores now but don’t rush in and buy, as the optimum time is the end of next month.
• Gingers and heliconias that have finished flowering can be cut back now, leaving the new growth for next seasons flowering display.
• Apply a light dusting of lime to bare veggie beds. Don’t apply fertliser at the same time as the lime reacts with the nitrogen creating ammonia gas.
• Plant leafy coriander plants now. The cooler temperatures will stop them bolting to seed.
• If you have had spring flowering seedlings which haven’t survived all the rains, it’s not too late to plant Iceland poppies, pansies or snapdragons to fill in the gaps.
• Your strawberry plants should be coming on well now. Apply a little pelletised manure and use fish and seaweed solutions regularly over the plants to keep them in good health. It’s not too late to put some in if you haven’t yet.
• Dahlias that are dying back should be trimmed off and those that have not yet started to die back can be trimmed to half their height. They’ll need to be lifted out of the ground next month (June).
• Unfortunately, there are still a number of pests in the vegie garden. Dusting with Derris Dust or spraying with Dipel or Success will help keep most of the vegetable pests at bay and they only have very short withholding periods – so are safe to use the next day or so.
• If you’ve planted broad beans, pinch out their tips to encourage more flowers to form.
• Plant new citrus trees this month and next (May and June). Always remove any fruit before planting, or better still select trees without fruit for more vigour. Do not fertilise young trees until 3-4 months after planting.
Vegetables
Plant beetroot, silver beet, broad beans, onions, spring onions, peas, carrot, kohl rabi, lettuce, radish, turnip, capsicum, celery, beans, garlic, leeks, parsnip, peas, potatoes, sweet potato, tomato, broccoli, parsley, cabbage, cauliflower and coriander.
Flowers
Plant alyssum, marigold, petunia, calendula, cineraria, cornflower, dianthus, hollyhock, kale, lobelia, pansy, phlox, Iceland poppy, primula, snapdragon, statice, stock, sweet pea (seedling), viola, carnation, cyclamen, foxglove, gaillardia, salvia, sunflower and verbena.
