May in the Garden

Gardens are our second nature all year round. But as May rolls in, there are a few things to keep in mind to make sure your little patch of second nature can do its best.

Dividing Perennials

Dividing perennials is a fantastic way to fill your garden with colour, and all without having to go to a garden centre.

Great candidates include primroses, aubrieta, aurinia and phlox subulate. Depending on the size of the plant, you can hope to make up to 4 more. It can also give plants that are struggling a new lease of life.

Here’s how:

1. Dig your perennial carefully from its pot or the ground.
2. Place your spade in the centre of the perennial and cut through the plant.
3. Once divided, repot each section.
4. Now you have it. A couple more splashes of colour to enjoy around your garden.

IT’S TIME TO GO OUTSIDE:

For all those plants that were raised indoors. They tend to be more delicate, and to give them a better chance out there in the garden, they need to adapt to the colder conditions by “hardening off”.

May is ideal to harden off plants. Bring them out from the greenhouse during the day, and bring them back inside when it gets cooler again. Do this daily for around a week, gradually increasing the time the plants spend outdoors.

Now, you can leave your plants outside overnight. Provided, of course, you give them a helping hand in the form of a protective fleece, so the cold doesn’t do any lasting damage. Once they’ve hardened off, and there’s no frost forecast, you can start to plant them outside.

HANGING BASKETS:

If you want the splash of colour you get from a hanging basket, May is your last chance to get those eye-catching blooms by summer. Petunias, fushias, geraniums – they all look amazing – but it’s up to you. Keep taller plants in the centre, but let your creativity shine, bringing your favourite plants together in a small space.

SPICE THINGS UP:

Summer dishes are crying out for the fresh, fragrant accents provided by your very own herb garden. It’s simple. And you’ll taste the benefits all summer long.

1. Drill a drainage hole in a large pot or container.
2. Add some cracked pots to improve drainage.
3. Fill it with multi-purpose compost.
4. Choose the herbs you want to cook with.
5. Secure the plants with another layer of compost and cover the roots.
6. Water regularly, and pick off the herbs as and when you need them.

Treat Lawns for Moss

Here’s a great secret for getting rid of moss creeping in on your lawn: Mo-Bacter. It’s an organic product – a bacteria that eats the moss from your lawn, protecting it from new moss growth, while also feeding your lawn.

It’s effective for up to 100 days, but only at temperatures higher than 12 degrees.

So you can enjoy a summer of moss-free lawn.

Collect Rainwater

On the topic of hanging baskets, ensure they are being watered correctly by collecting rainwater. Rainwater is also very healthy for bedding plants in potted containers, window boxes or any other plants in your garden. Plants need regular watering now that we’re approaching the summer, and rainwater is the best water to use in any of your plants.

Water Butts are the best way of gathering rainwater to use when watering plants. Simply dunk your watering can into the water butt to fill it. Gathering rainwater with this is far better than using tap water as tap water contains many chemicals, fluorides and salts which can be harmful to the plants.

If  you don’t have a water butt available to you, a barrel or even a bathtub can be just as effective!

GET IN TOUCH:

Gardens really are our second nature. So if you’d like help with something on this post, or anything else in your corner of second nature, please reach out to us on social media, or by email on hello@countrylife.ie. If the question is quite specific, it’s really helpful to include a photo. We’d love to help.

---

SHOP PRODUCTS

All products mentioned in the above blog can be bought on countrylife.ie or in you local Tirlán CountryLife branch. To find your nearest store click here.

---

---