The garden season reaches its peak this month. The Chelsea Flower Show is later this month and we shall have hours of television programmes and loads of gardening supplements to assimilate. The chance of getting frosts goes down as the month proceeds so it is now time to plant out the beds and borders with bedding plants such as busy lizzies, begonias, geraniums, petunias and the like. Keep a little garden fleece in the shed so that plants can be covered up should the weather man bring news of a sudden late frost. As soon as possible get the hanging baskets planted up, preferably in the greenhouse. Geraniums, pelargoniums, begonias, petunias, fuchsias, busy lizzies together with bacopa, bidens, diascia, helichrysum, lobelia, verbena and million bells can be used in baskets. Always use a good potting compost and add Swell Gel which helps prevent them drying out. Tomatoes such as Tumbler, strawberries and some herbs can be used as edible hanging baskets. Window boxes and tubs should now be planted and there is a good selection of suitable plants in the garden centre. Gladiolus corms should be planted as soon as possible and dahlia tubers and cannas need to go in. Seeds of clarkia, candytuft, eschscholzia, godetia and nigella can be sown direct where they are to be grown. In the vegetable garden the potatoes will need to be earthed up. Runner beans, tomatoes, marrows and courgettes can be planted later in the month and beetroot, carrots, spinach, turnips, peas, spring onions, cauliflowers and summer cabbage should be sown as soon as possible. French beans can also be sown and make regular sowings of salads such as lettuce and radish. Feed vegetable plants with Growmore and use Toprose fertilizer for shrubs, climbers and roses. Liquid feeds such as Miracle-Grow, Maxicrop and Phostrogen are good for bedding plants. Use Rose Clear spray at about three weekly intervals to keep roses free from black spot, rust and mildew and this is quite useful for keeping hollyhocks and campanulas free from rust too. Keep on top of weeding and watering and look out for slugs and snails. As the spring flowering shrubs go over they should be pruned but leave the cutting of hedges until the birds have finished nesting. The Chelsea Flower Show is from 19-23 May but if you wish to go then order tickets as soon as possible, 0844 209 1681. The Malvern Spring Gardening Show is from 7-10 May, tickets from 01684 548924. Gardens open this month include Patchwork, Hall Park Gate, Berkhamsted on 3 May, Ragged Hall, Gaddesden Row on 3 May, The Abbots House, Abbots Langley on 3 May and Great Sarratt Hall on 24 May.
Terry Simmonds