Paraic’s Tips For Your Garden In May

“March winds and April showers bring forth May flowers”

Old English Proverb

Welcome May!

The month of May was named after Maia, the Greek goddess of spring. During May we expect to see many plants blossoming and warmer soil temperatures. Thankfully, this means we are being blessed with gardening weather. There are an abundance of tasks we can do in the garden in May. Here, I will talk to you about some of the most important tasks to complete in the garden in May.

Lawn Care

• The first step in our lawn care program involved treating your lawn moss with Zero Lawn Moss. Now, it is time to feed your lawn with Zero Lawn Feed. This will ensure your lawn is moss free and green this summer. It greens your lawn without forcing growth and encourages a strong moss free lawn by mid-summer.
• Mow your lawn weekly, for a tidy and neat lawn. 

Shop lawn care

Sow and Grow

Fruit

• If there’s one fruit I recommend growing this year it’s a Coronet Apple Tree. This is a family apple tree that can be grown in a pot. It’s a dwarf tree that produces full sized apples. Better yet, it produces two different types of apples. It’s easy to grow and if it’s planted now, it’ll produce fruit this year. Planting an apple tree is a fun family activity once you get the kids or grand-kids involved. Children love getting out into the fresh air and getting their hands dirty. Planting a family apple tree will take approx. 30 minutes, and it’ll provide you and your loved ones with a lifetime of memories.
• As the saying goes, “the child that grows a tomato, eats a tomato”. That’s why we recommend growing tomatoes this year, as a healthy addition to your kitchen. Tomatoes grow well in pots and will fruit this summer if planted now. I recommend planting a variety known as Cherry Tomato Sweet Aperitif. They’re a sweet tomato variety, that your kids are guaranteed to enjoy.
• Strawberries are a wonderful fruit to plant in your garden in May. Their bright red color, juicy texture and sweetness are a welcome addition to every fruit bowl this summer. 
• Blueberries are another favourite among the younger generations. Try the new blueberry variety called Pink Lemonade. It’s a self fertile variety which is ideal for pots. It’ll produce two crops of pink coloured fruits in July and October. 

Vegetable seeds

• Our range of vegetable seeds are perfect for planting this May. We have everything from rocket, parsnip, carrot, beetroot, lettuce and onion. These are super easy to grow and will reward you with lots of fresh pickings in July and August.

Shop bulbs & seeds

Garden Colour

• Plant your window boxes, patio planters and hanging baskets now with lots of summer colour.  Trailing plants are a perfect way to add colour and interest to your containers. They’re easy to grow and flower all summer long, providing a stunning show of colour.
• Plant your border and shrub beds with summer bedding plants including French Marigolds, Border Petunias, Dahlias and Begonias. Border and shrub beds can be planted in late May, to brighten your garden with wonderful summer colour.

• Roses are a wonderful addition to a Summer garden. They can be planted now in well prepared garden soil. A wonderful choice of rose is the Trumpeter. It produces masses of vivid red blooms in large bunches from June to early winter. This beauty has excellent disease resistance, produces lovely bronze foliage and flowers all summer long. Plant Trumpeter in groups of five or seven to create a strong show of colour in your garden this summer.

• Climbing flowering plants including Clematis, Climbing Roses, Wisteria, Flowering Hydrangea and Sweet Peas can be planted in your garden in May.  Add “Horkans Own” compost to the planting hole, to welcome an abundance of color to your garden.
• Lemon Scented Geraniums are a welcome addition to every home/garden. The geranium plant produces a fantastic fresh citrus scent, all summer long. It can be used to keep flies away and to freshen homes/offices. Better yet, the leaves are edible, meaning they can be used to flavour ice cubes and drinks. It works a treat in a G & T!
• Whatever it is you decide to plant, make sure you’ve got a goot pot/container for it. We recommend Elho pots and containers – these are durable and have vibrant colours that can make any plants pop!

Garden Care

• Control Mares Tail weed by applying SBK Brushwood Killer directly onto the new growth. Reapply it in mid Summer to keep it controlled. 
• Trees, shrubs and hedging plants grow well during May. An application of fertiliser will promote strong growth and flowers in many garden plants. Simply sprinkle a handful of fertiliser out from the base of the plants to add a much needed boost to your garden plants.
• Use Organic Slug Pellets to protect your bedding plants from slugs and snails. The pellets can simply be applied to the soil, around the base of your plants for excellent protection. 
• Check your fruiting gooseberries, blackcurrants and redcurrants for greenfly attack. Greenfly can cause severe damage to many fruiting plants in May, hence now is an ideal time to apply a dressing of spray. Bayer Garden’s Spray kills unwanted garden pests, without damaging the fruit or plant, and provides long lasting insect control.
• Apple trees planted earlier in the year have flowered well this spring. After all the flowers are in fruit, feed the trees with a handful of fertiliser. If your apple tree is prone to greenfly or caterpillar attack you can also spray the trees with a dressing of Bayer Garden Spray.

Outdoor living

• At Horkans, we pride ourselves on our high quality products. Nowhere is this more evident than in our barbecue stock. Our incredible range of barbecues are sure to make this Summer a sizzling one! 
• Kick your feet back on one of our cosy outdoor furniture pieces – ideal for chilling out on on a hot Summer day. Full range to view online or try out in our stores! 
• Want to bring the inside outdoors? Our range of garden gazebos, verandas and patio covers are perfect for bringing you closer to nature. You could turn it into it whatever you want it to be – from a home office to a sitting room. The more creative, the better!

Shop outdoor living

May is a a wonderful time in the garden. I love seeing the freshly cut lawns and breathing in the fresh air. I can see the fruits of my labour carried out earlier in the gardening season. Yet, I know there are plenty of tasks to keep me busy and active for the weeks to come. Day by day, I see improvements in my garden and that is truly special to me. The days are long and the weather is improving. A May evening welcomes the gardener with open arms and a warm smile. How good it is to be reunited with garden friendly weather and light!