THE ALMANAC - MAY

LAWNS 
1. Mow regularly now but not too close. It's still quite early and the height of cut needs to come down gradually to allow for any late frosts.
2. Prepare your ground and lay turf as weather permits.Tread ground firmly to prevent any sinking before laying turf.
3. Prepare ground (firm and level) and sow grass seed. Don't sow too thickly as this sometimes prevents germination. About a handful to a square metre is usually sufficient. Keep well watered.
4. Add grass clippings to your compost heap in thin layers as applying it too thickly will just result in a wet mess. Add a fresh layer every two or three days to give it chance to start and decompose.
5. Apply a lawn feed from now on as light levels and temperatures are just right for strong even growth.
6. Lawn weeds will be growing actively now so start a program of spraying to prevent the current weeds from producing another generation of seed.
7. If not done already, give the lawns a nice shape using a half moon tool.This will smarten it up for the summer and make edging much easier to carry out.

VEGETABLES 
1. Harvest spring lettuce,spring cabbage, salad onions,salad leaves,beetroot and radishes as they mature. Continue to sow these crops for continued harvesting.
2. Sow french and runner beans,squash,cucumbers and pumpkin seeds directly into prepared beds outside.Keep some fleece to hand in case of late frosts. French beans are best grown in traditional rows at 6-9 ins spacing.
3. Sweetcorn works best sown in blocks, at 18ins spacing, with two seeds per hole.The strongest one can be selected later and you will have a back up hopefully with the spare seedling.
4. Sow cauliflower and purple sprouting broccoli for harvesting next winter.
5. Brussel sprouts for next winter should now be ready for transplanting after early or mid-spring sowing. The gaps between them can be used for catch crops like radishes or gem lettuce.
6. Ridge cucumbers can now be sown indoors for planting out in early June. Again, two seeds to a pot and select the most vigorous seedling from each pot for growing on and planting out.
7. Earth up potatoes when the shoots are 9ins high, in order to prevent the new tubers going green. Earthing-up is the drawing up of soil around the stems of the plants,leaving just (2in) of shoot uncovered so that the plant has enough foliage to continue growing.

GREENHOUSE
1. Move conservatory plants, such as Cymbidium, Ficus and Citrus outdoors during warm days but bring back inside if cold nights are expected.
2. Pot up houseplants that have been showing signs of being rootbound or top dress large containers with fresh compost.
3. Harden off your half hardy bedding plants that were started off early under cover. Place them outside on fine days for short periods thus gradually acclimatising them to cooler temperatures which will prevent them suffering shock when moved outside permanently.
4. Apply shade paint to the exterior of your greenhouse for the summer to prevent scorching of the foliage on mature plants and the 'frying' of young seedlings.
5. Hydrangeas and fuchsias can be propagated now from softwood stem tip cuttings.
6. Purchase some greenfly stickers for your planthouse as these are safer to use than sprays and will catch the early 'munchers'.
7. Keep an eye on ventilation and humidity now that temperatures are starting to rise.

TREES AND SHRUBS
1. Prune out frost damage from affected evergreen shrubs.
2. Cut back tender shrubs such as Penstemon, Caryopteris and hardy Fuchsia after danger of frost has finished.
3. Clip evergreen hedges. If not too woody, add clippings to compost heap.
4. Prune spring - flowering shrubs such as Berberis, Chaenomeles, Choisysia and Ribes after flowering. Evergreens such as Viburnum tinus can still be trimmed this month.
5. Late spring is a good time to coppice or pollard Eucalyptus. This will induce nice colourful young growth to spring forth which will compliment many of the other colours in your garden.
6. Young Mimosa trees (Acacia dealbata) can also be cut back now. Mature trees respond less well to pruning.

ROSES
1. Prune any roses that have'nt been,and follow up with a good rose fertiliser. Keep well watered and start a program of spraying to prevent the onset of pest and disease.
2. Tie in any climbers and ramblers that are intruding where they shoudn't .
3. Remove any weed on the beds and apply a thick bark mulch to retain water and eliminate any further weed.
4. Check and replace any tree ties that have deterioated on the standard rose stakes.
5. Renew any lables that have faded over time.
6. Give a balanced feed to all your roses and water well in.

PERENNIALS
1. Sweet Peas need training and tying in to their supports to encourage them to climb and make a good display. Once again feed after planting and water in.
2. Divide Primula (primroses) after flowering and plant them in a nursery bed until the following Autumn, when they can be planted out in their final resting places.
3. Divide Hosta as they come into growth making sure that you take precautions against slugs.
4. Liquid feed all containers every two to four weeks.
5. Remove faded wallflowers and spring bedding from beds and containers, to make space for summer planting.
6. Winter bedding plants for the following winter can also be sown from now till July. Attractive choices include ornamental cabbages, kales and winter pansies.