May week 4

Acer palmatum dissectum "pendula"

This week I have been on leave from work for the week so its really been a chance to do some much needed work in my own garden. My own garden is on old fisherman's cottage in which I mainly grow herbacous perrenials, roses and cottage garden plants as well as a few more unusual trees and shrubs.

Dahlia "Bishops Children"

Catching up on the weeding has been my main task on my “bus man’s holiday” then planting up some shrubs, a Daphne bholua 'Jacqueline Postill' for it’s winter scented flowers and a Euonymus europaeus “Red Cascade” for its stunning autumn colour. I have also grown a number of Dahlia “Bishops Children” from seed which I have been preparing for going outside, some for my own garden and others for The Helmsdale Kitchen Garden. In between all these jobs I have been making sure to enjoy the garden, the Forget Me Knots (Myosotis alpestris), the Aqualegias and the Knapweed (Centaurea montana).

Flowers

Anemone trullifolia

Weeding is a never ending task now we have reached this point of the year. Last year I put some horse manure down in my own garden and this year it’s a constant fight with the grass growing from the seeds brought in on it.

Despite the occasional blips in the weather it is now safe to plant your bedding plants outside.

Primulas/Polyanthus which have finished flowering can be divided now to give you even more flowers next year.

One of the highlights is Anemone trullifolia, a small perrenial that flowers over a few weeks in late spring. Grows in part shade, in fertile but well drained soil.

Vegetables

If growing peas now is a good chance to sow some more to provide a longer season.

Start protecting strawberry beds, now they have finished flowering they will need netting to keep out the birds, and straw if possible to deter slugs. 

Potatoes planted earlier may need earthed up now. By putting soil on the emerging shoots you encourage a bigger crop.

If growing runner beans, they can be planted outside now. At HKG because of the regular strong winds we grow all our runner beans in the polytunnel but if you have a sheltered spot it’s worth experimenting with, just make sure to give them the required support.

View of  my own garden

Even when on leave a gardeners work is never done but always make time to enjoy the season. 

May week 3

Polytunnel showing baby carrots

Well May certainly disappeared this week,

snow, then rain, then hail and a constant cold north wind thank goodness for polytunnels. With this weather our polytunnel is weeded and never been in such good condition! Despite the wintry weather the garden continues to grow at full speed, our Rhubarb is providing the first few stems for harvest, our Asparagus shoots are now opening and the Cherry Trees are now in bloom.

Work in the garden has taken a slight pause with the colder weather, we have held back on planting out a lot of our seedlings now until the weather warms up. Instead we have been focused on improving our water collection facilities and weeding the Polytunnel.

Flowers

Aquilegia sp.

We are now approaching the later part of the Spring seed sowing season and with it comes the time to start sowing bi-annual seeds. These are things like Forget-Me-Knots, Foxgloves, Bellis etc. So if you sow this week you’ll have a beautiful display next year.

Keep on top of the weeding, and you’ll be thankful you did in the summer.

May is a great month for flowers and certainly a very rewarding one is Aquilegia (Grannys bonnet). Very easy to grow from seed, one plant will seed itself around the garden and you will never be short of Aquilegia again!

Strawberries in polytunnel starting to turn red

Vegetables

Continue to sow vegetables.

 If your weather has been cold make sure not to plant anything out and keep them under shelter at night until the warmth and risk of frost has gone.

Potted up tomoatoes will soon need to be planted into their final positions for the summer, once they reach adequate size.

Blue Kale

This weather has certainly been a change from the last few weeks, but it has brought with it some much needed rain. And hopefully we will be back to some warmer weather soon.

May week 2

View of the polytunnel

Of all the months for good weather and scenery in Scotland, I always think May is one of the best and this is certainly something that has been proved this week. In the garden we have been busy, sowing and planting with the occasional weeding for good measure.

We have been planting up the Basil, Parsley, Onions and Leeks and sowing Parsnips and carrots.

Our Courgettes seedlings are now big enough to be planted in the polytunnel beds and will soon keep us supplied with a steady stream of Courgettes throughout the summer.

Basil after planting

Flower Garden

The risk of frost still hasn’t really passed yet so do still be careful with the non hardy things (Dahlias, Summer Bedding, Pelargoniums etc.)

Keep on top of the weeding, as the soil is now warmed up weed seeds will grow and soon take over if not caught in time.

Climbing roses and other climbing plants should have some growth on them now which will need tied into supports.

With this dry spell we are having at the minute keep on top of the watering, particularly on any newly planted flowers, shrubs and trees.

One of best ground cover plant is Galium odoratum  (Sweet woodruff) which is looking stunning at this time of year, covered in its little white star flowers. It likes semi shade to shade, moist humus rich soil, but it soon spreads and keeps out the weeds.

Sweet Woodruff growing with bluebells. 

Vegetables

Courgettes planted

Similar to the flowers beds, keep on top of the weeds. Continue sowing and planting. We are reaching the last chance to sow a number of things, Courgettes, Squashes, Cucumbers etc. So if you haven’t done so already do so as soon as possible.

Continue sowing salad crops where ever you have space, great for filling in gaps in the beds.

And keep on top of the watering, especially during this current dry spell.

May is a beautiful month with so many different flowers on show and unusually for Scotland we have the weather to enjoy them too!

Tomato plants, Tigerella