Spring bulbs begin to fade, and herbaceous borders suddenly grow like crazy which means summer is coming, even if the weather does not seem to reflect this.

Plant out summer bedding at the end of the month
Bedding plants provide a temporary decorative seasonal display for beds, borders, containers and hanging baskets, but do watch out for late frosts.
Frost can affect many plants and is particularly damaging to tender new growth. The risks of frost damage can be reduced by taking some simple steps to protect the plants in your garden.
- Slightly tender plants should be grown in a warm sunny spot, e.g. against a south-facing wall, which will provide some extra warmth
- Cover plants with a double layer of horticultural fleece or other suitable protection when frost is forecast
Lawns
Lawns should generally be mown weekly or fortnightly between March and October to keep them neat and in good condition. As well as improving the look of a lawn, regular mowing helps to eliminate unwanted weeds and encourage denser turf.

However you could put your mower away for May as not mowing from May until August can create a flower rich lawn with new habitat opportunities for grasshoppers, moth caterpillars, bees and other pollinating insects.
Hedge Pruning
Some hedges are already starting to look a little unruly, but before undertaking work on garden hedges check that there are no birds nesting, The bird nesting season is usually considered to run from March to August.

Plants that look great in May
Geums from late spring are a wonderful addition to the garden, they are colorful perennials. Quite a number of them have a long flowering period making them so useful. I like Geum ‘Totally Tangerine’ – it has lots of single orange flowers on tall stems. Grows in full sun in moist free draining soil.

Geums Totally Tangerine
A beautiful yellow specimen is Geum ‘Custard Tart’ Grows in sun or part shade in moist free draining soil.
Camassia – I just love. They flower from late spring to early summer and are 30 – 40 cms high and come in shades of violet, blue or white. They are easy to look after as once the flowers are over cut them back to the base and let the foliage die back naturally before removing. Buy plants now or plant bulbs in autumn. They like moist soil and are wonderful for naturalising in sun or part shade.

Camassia Quamash
Plant herbs such as thyme, marjoram and rosemary, their flowers are magnets for pollinators.
May is also the month to plant up summer pots. If you want visual impact, use a large pot with a tall feature plant in the middle such as a fuchsia filler around it such as petunia, felicia and lobelia and have trailing plants on the edge to soften the entire look.

Other jobs for May
Cut back Forsythia it will be finishing now remove a third of the old woody shoots cutting close to the base, then cut back flowering shoots with secateurs to keep the plant in a good shape. Prune them lightly as they carry next year’s flowers. Make clean cuts that slope away from just above a healthy young shoot.
Divide early flowering perennials such as primulas.
Weeding
I dislike weed killers and never use them. Weeds can be controlled by physical action.
Annual weeds (which only live for a year) and ephemeral weeds (which live for less than a year) are the easiest to control, as they are usually shallow rooted. However, they can scatter seed prolifically, so usually reappear and require further control.

Hoes are multi-purpose tools but are excellent for loosening the soil surface to remove weeds. Hoeing to remove weeds is best done on a warm, dry day, so you slice easily through weed stems just below the surface.
Perennial weeds should be dug out with as much root (or bulb) as possible, using a hand or border fork. Hand weeding is easiest on lighter soils and should only be attempted where it will not disturb the roots of garden plants. Further pulling may be necessary with persistent weeds such as bindweed or couch grass where small root sections left behind can re-grow into new plants
A weed knife has a hooked end and is a useful tool for weeding between paving slabs and along path edging. For paved areas I like the block paving weed brush which are sold in most garden centres.

Block paving weeding brush
Regular cleaning and tidying not only keeps a garden looking neat but can reduce pests and diseases too. Beneficial jobs include collecting fallen leaves, promptly removing diseased growth and debris, cleaning tools, and weeding.