May Garden Notes
Seasonal jobs, kitchen garden notes, wildlife care and design ideas for your garden this month.
MONTHLY NOTES
4/20/20266 min read
May is one of the most exciting months in the garden. The pace of growth increases, borders begin to fill out, trees are in fresh leaf, and the garden starts to feel full of promise for the summer ahead.
It is also a month of change. Spring flowers are beginning to fade, summer perennials are pushing up, weeds grow quickly, and tender plants need careful handling until the risk of frost has passed. The garden can feel both beautiful and slightly unfinished, with one season handing over to the next.
May is a good time to support new growth, fill gaps thoughtfully and look carefully at how the garden is moving from spring into summer.
Jobs to do this month
A few useful garden jobs for May:
Keep an eye on late frosts, especially with tender plants, young vegetables and anything recently moved outside.
Harden off tender plants gradually before planting them out, giving them time outside during the day and protection at night.
Stake tall perennials early, including peonies, delphiniums, lupins, foxgloves and taller salvias before they become too large.
Deadhead spring bulbs such as tulips and daffodils, but leave the foliage to die back naturally so the bulbs can build energy for next year.
Weed regularly, as annual weeds grow quickly in warm, damp spring weather.
Feed roses, clematis and hungry perennials to support strong growth and flowering.
Tie in climbing plants such as clematis, honeysuckle, sweet peas and climbing roses while stems are flexible.
Start mowing lawns regularly, adjusting the height depending on weather and growth.
Check for aphids, slugs and snails, particularly around soft new growth and young plants.
Refresh containers by removing tired spring bedding and preparing pots for summer planting.
In the kitchen garden
May is a busy month in the kitchen garden. The soil is warming, sowing is in full swing, and many crops can now be started or planted out. However, it is still worth being cautious with tender crops, especially in colder areas or exposed gardens.
This is a month for building momentum. Sow in small batches, keep young plants protected, and prepare supports before climbing crops need them.
Sow this month:
Carrots
Beetroot
Lettuce and salad leaves
Rocket
Spring onions
Radishes
Chard and perpetual spinach
Peas and mangetout
French beans, under cover or outside later in the month
Runner beans, under cover or outside once conditions are warm
Courgettes, pumpkins and squash
Sweetcorn
Basil, coriander, dill and parsley
Plant out this month:
Hardened-off brassicas
Lettuce and salad seedlings
Leeks if they are ready
Peas and mangetout
Broad beans
Outdoor tomatoes in mild, sheltered areas towards the end of the month
Courgettes and squash only once frost risk has passed
French beans and runner beans after hardening off
Strawberry plants if needed
Harvest this month:
Rhubarb
Asparagus
Early salad leaves
Radishes
Spring onions
Herbs such as chives, mint and parsley
Early spinach
Overwintered chard
Broad beans in milder areas
Watch for:
Slugs and snails around young plants
Pigeons on brassicas
Flea beetle on rocket and brassica seedlings
Aphids on broad beans and soft young growth
Dry seed drills in warm weather
Sudden cold nights damaging tender crops
Make the most of the season:
May is a good time to get into the habit of successional sowing. Rather than sowing a whole packet of salad, beetroot or radish at once, sow a short row every couple of weeks. This gives a steadier harvest and helps avoid gluts followed by gaps.
It is also worth setting up supports now for peas, beans and tomatoes. It is much easier to put canes, netting or frames in place before plants become tall and tangled.
Wildlife note
May is a rich month for wildlife. Birds are nesting, bees are busy, and many insects are becoming more active as the weather warms.
Before cutting hedges or dense shrubs, check carefully for nesting birds. Leaving part of the lawn to grow longer can provide food and shelter for insects, especially if daisies, clover and other low flowers are allowed to bloom.
A small patch of longer grass, a flowering herb, or a shallow dish of water can all help make a garden more wildlife-friendly without needing major changes.
Design focus: bridging the gap between spring and summer
May is a useful month for noticing the transition between spring and summer. Many gardens look lovely in April and early May, with tulips, wallflowers, forget-me-nots, blossom and fresh green growth. But as spring flowers fade, some borders can suddenly feel patchy or unresolved.
This seasonal handover is one of the most common design challenges in a garden. A border may have a strong spring display and a good summer display, but still have an awkward gap in between. May is the month when that gap becomes visible.
Rather than seeing this as a problem, it is a helpful opportunity. The garden is showing you where it needs better succession, stronger foliage, or plants that can carry interest from one season into the next.
What to look for in May
Walk around the garden and look at the borders as the spring display begins to fade.
Notice:
Where bulbs have finished and left gaps
Which areas still look fresh because of good foliage
Whether the border has enough emerging summer perennials
Whether there is a lull between spring colour and summer flowers
Which plants are providing structure before flowering
Whether containers are looking tired or still adding value
Where bare soil is visible
Whether the garden still feels attractive from key views
Whether spring plants are distracting from the next stage of the border
Which areas could be improved with better succession planting
This is a good time to take photographs. A May photograph can be very useful when planning autumn bulb planting, border changes or additional perennials.
Why foliage matters
It is easy to focus on flowers, especially in spring, but foliage is what often carries a border through seasonal changes.
Plants with good leaves can make a border feel full and attractive even before they flower. This might include hardy geraniums, alchemilla, nepeta, geums, astrantia, ferns, euphorbia, hostas, heuchera, grasses and many shrubs.
Foliage helps cover fading bulb leaves, softens bare patches and gives the border a sense of depth. It also makes the garden feel less dependent on one short moment of flowering.
A border that relies only on flowers can have obvious gaps. A border with good foliage can feel generous for much longer.
Planning for succession
Succession planting means choosing plants so that interest passes from one group to the next through the year.
In May, useful plants might include:
Geums for late spring and early summer colour
Aquilegias for soft, cottage-style self-seeding
Hardy geraniums for foliage and long flowering
Astrantia for gentle flowers in sun or part shade
Nepeta for soft edging and early summer colour
Salvias for upright flower spikes moving into summer
Alchemilla mollis for frothy lime-green flowers and useful foliage
Euphorbias for structure and fresh spring colour
Foxgloves for height and vertical interest
Alliums for strong shape after tulips have faded
The aim is not to fill every space immediately. Some gaps are useful, especially where later perennials need room to grow. But the garden should still feel intentional, rather than as though one display has ended and the next has not yet begun.
Working with fading bulbs
Spring bulbs are wonderful, but their fading foliage can be difficult to manage in a border. Daffodil and tulip leaves need time to die back naturally, so they should not be cut away too soon.
Good planting around bulbs can make this stage easier. Emerging perennials can grow up around the fading leaves and help disguise them. Hardy geraniums, alchemilla, nepeta, hostas, daylilies and ornamental grasses can all be useful, depending on the conditions.
If bulbs are planted in isolated clumps with bare soil around them, the fading foliage is much more noticeable. If they are woven through a border with perennials, the transition feels softer.
Containers and entrances
May is also a good time to look at containers, especially near doors, patios and entrances. Spring pots may be fading, while summer pots may not yet be at their best.
Rather than leaving tired containers in place, this is a good moment to refresh them. You might use a mixture of foliage and flowers so they look good straight away but continue developing through summer.
Useful plants for May container refreshes include:
Pelargoniums
Salvias
Cosmos
Nemesia
Verbena
Osteospermum
Erigeron
Thyme
Lavender
Heuchera
Carex
Trailing ivy or other foliage plants
For a softer, cottage-style display, combine upright flowers, trailing plants and something with scented or textured foliage. This gives the pot structure as well as colour.
A simple May design exercise
Choose one border or container area and ask:
What looked good here in spring?
What is starting to fade now?
What will take over in June and July?
Is there enough foliage to hold the border together?
Are there any gaps that need filling later?
Could bulbs be planted differently next autumn?
Would repetition help the area feel more connected?
Make a few notes now while the transition is visible. By summer, it is easy to forget where the spring gaps were.
May is one of the best months for understanding how well a garden moves from one season to the next. A beautiful garden is not only about peak moments. It is about creating a sense of continuity, so that each season gently hands over to the next.
Need help with your garden this season?
Tend & Flourish offers garden advice, planting plans and regular garden care to help gardens feel more beautiful, manageable and connected to the seasons.
Whether your garden has spring gaps, tired containers or borders that need better succession, May is a good time to look carefully at the planting and plan thoughtful improvements for the months ahead.