May the month of the “Ice saints.” Between May 11 and 14 the name days of a few catholic Saints like St. Pancras and St. Servatius also announce the last nightly frosts of the spring. From this time on you can sow and put the annuals outside. So read more about the things to do in the garden in May.
Table of Contents
Pots and Planters
Allow pots, made of porous earthenware to fill with water, before placing the plants in them. You can make a combination of perennials and annuals in one pot. I like combinations of pastel colors like blue, pink, and white. Or if you want to spice it up with colors use red, purple, orange. And do not forget a small version for the garden table.
Mother’s Day is also often around that time, in the Netherlands it is coming Sunday May 14. Nice to give annuals as a gift for balcony or garden.
Strong annuals: Petunia, Impatiens, Fuchsia, Salvia, Solanum
Borders
The last month to plant summer flowering bulbs (July-October) like Dahlia, Lilium, Anemone, and Gladiolus. One of my favorite places to order summer bulbs is Vreeken Zaden in Dordrecht because of their extensive range of 640 summer bulbs. Delivery takes some time, so I prefer to buy in the shop, but of course in a lot of local garden centers you can find a good assortment.
Herbs
I want to be able to cut the herbs close to the kitchen. In winter I still have rosemary and thyme, but now I In May, parsley, chives, sage, celery, and borage are added. Delicious in food and borage also because of the cute flowers.
“What is paradise, but, a garden, an orchard of trees and herbs, full of pleasure and nothing there but delights.”
William Lawson , Herb quotes garden
Water
The dry summer of 2022 is for me a reason to have a look at a rain barrel. Great for watering the plants indoor and outdoor, cleaning the windows and for me it is important to limit the water flow to the sewer (or do I use the word drain here?) because the room flooded some years ago. So, I had to change the sofa cover.
Sow
Sow annual plants immediately in the right spot in the border. For me, this year that means Verbena and Corn flower (Centaurea).
There are so many plants, vegetables, and herbs you can sow in May. The sowing calendar “what to sow and grow” of Thompson and Morgan and from The Bolster Bio seeds are favorites.
Vegetable garden
I had a vegetable garden, 2 minutes walking from home. (Does not that sound like “I had a farm in Africa, at the foot of the Ngong Hills” from Out of Africa!) so I still have my checklists from a few years ago. In my vegetable garden I was used to digging the soil every year. Until I read about a “no dig gardening method”. More about this method here. For me and my back an excellent method!
Garden Boutique
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Bonus Tips
- Vreekens’ zaden in Dordrecht. Combine a visit with lunch in Villa Augustus, a hotel & restaurant in the middle of a (vegetable) garden on the Wantij in Dordrecht.
- Tips about perennials here
- Tips about bulbs here
And today you can enjoy what is already blooming
Enjoy your May garden
