After a long, hard winter, spring has finally sprung, and we are feeling positive! There is nothing more therapeutic than a sunny spring day in the garden exercising your green fingers. Studies show that gardening is good for your health! Gardening is a physical activity so as you are ‘working out’ your body will release endorphins which help to reduce stress and improve your mood. What better excuse do you need to get out and about in the garden this May? Read on to find out our top 5 tips from our Estates Manager, Chris Holdsworth’s for gardening this May…
- Prep your vegetable patch
If you have a vegetable patch in your garden, now is the best time to plant out and sow your vegetable seeds ready to grow throughout the rest of the spring. At Mallory Court, we will be planting out brassicas, beetroot, kohlrabi and maincrop turnips that have already been grown in modules and protecting them from pigeons with chicken wire cloches. Other vegetables we will be sowing seeds for include carrots, baby turnips and spring onions. For the chefs, we will continue to sow micro and baby leaves, providing them with fresh ingredients for their menus. Tomatoes will be planted out into the tunnel and get your outdoor tomatoes ready to be planted in June. Finally, potatoes will need earthing up to stop them going green and to protect them from any late frost.
- Flower garden maintenance
Make sure you’re keeping your spring flower gardens maintained during the month of May. Spring bedding plants can be dug out and beds prepared for summer displays, plant these towards the end of the month where there will be a lower chance of frost. Dahlias can be planted out in May and ensure any early shoots are protected from late frosts. If you have any winter and spring flowering shrubs, trim these once they’ve finished flowering to keep them compact, these include forsythia, winter flowering honeysuckle and Chaenomeles. Finally in the flower garden, new growth of clematis honeysuckle and roses can be tied in as they grow.
- Looking after your lawns
As always, ensure you are mowing your lawns weekly and spraying out moss and weeds, scarifying to remove thatch and watering after if very dry. Keeping lawns neatly edged shows great detail and looks fantastic!
- Hydrating your whole garden
When watering this month, always water well and give plants a really good drink, this helps the roots go deeper into the soil rather than shallow rooting. Water soft fruit plants and trees as the fruit develops to give a greater crop. At Mallory, we will also be checking wisteria supports are strong enough and tree ties to make sure there not too tight.
- Weeding
A tedious job! But very essential, at Mallory Court we will be continuing to spray weeds along the car parks and paths. General weeding everywhere during spring will help to keep the weeds at bay.
So those are just a few ideas to get you started, but there’s plenty to be done in the gardens during spring. Follow our may gardening tips to keep your garden in top condition ready for the next season, and one of our favourites!
