So it’s here already ….. the hosepipe ban! We shall all get a lot of exercise carrying water round the garden in watering cans and buckets. This month is always a busy one so we must make a few changes. Now is the time to plant up hanging baskets, tubs and containers and when doing so add water-retaining granules such as SwellGel to the compost. Plant out bedding plants as soon as possible and be prepared to protect from late frosts using garden fleece. Seed potatoes can still be planted and it will soon be time to plant out the marrows, courgettes, runner beans and outdoor tomatoes. Quite a few vegetables can be sown outside in May and it is a good idea to water the drills before sowing the seed. This is a good month for planting herbaceous border plants and roses, trees and shrubs, provided they are container-grown. Herbs, alpines and climbing plants can also be planted. Wherever possible put down landscape fabric covered with a thick mulch to help conserve moisture in the soil. This will also keep the weeds down. Garden compost makes a good mulch and from the garden centre you can purchase organic compost or bark in a variety of forms. Rain water can be saved by linking a water butt to the downpipe on sheds and glasshouses as well as one the house, and at Garden Scene it is possible to purchase a complete water butt kit for just #29.95. Always water plants early in the morning or late in the evening. Vegetables do need regular watering but shrubs and border plants should only be watered if they become stressed. Many plants are fairly drought-resistant and these include agapanthus, bergenia, campanula, eschscholzia, gazania, geraniums, osteospermums, pelargoniums, poppies, rudbeckia, sedums, verbascum and verbena. Grey-leaved plants such as helichrysum and spiky-leaved plants such as phormium like dry conditions, as do some of the ornamental grasses.
Lawns should never be watered but in summer months it is better to set the mower  higher and cut more often, leaving at least some of the grass clippings on the lawn to act as a mulch. The Royal Horticultural Society will be producing a leaflet on water conservation and copies can be obtained by writing to the RHS, Wisley, Surrey GU23 6QB. There is also a RHS website (www.rhs.org.uk) where information on a host of garden matters can be found. The Chelsea Flower Show starts on Tuesday 23 May and runs until Saturday 27 May but tickets must be purchased beforehand (ticket hotline 0870 906 3780). The Malvern Spring Show is on 12-14 May. Some of the local gardens are open during May and these include Patchwork, 22 Hall Park Gate, Berkhamsted on 7 May, two gardens in Uxbridge Road, Rickmansworth on 14 May and Mackerye End, Harpenden, and Great Sarratt Hall on 28 May.    Terry Simmonds