Thyme To Garden - May 2018

[AB Editor]

Is spring finally springing? Here is your sticky gardening thread for May! How are your gardens looking?

[rowanwitch]

Radishes are coming on nicely, everything else coming through. Just waiting for chilli plants to arrive. Sent in an entry for Birmingham in bloom, for the best allotment, veg plot or container. If things do as well as last year it will be worth a punt.

[fraserstuart]

hi only starting to get things going weather the main cause so cold at night actual gardens like a bomb site but i will get there cheers

[anthro-nerd]

I need to mow the lawn! Flowers are beginning to sprout though, very exciting!

[woofgang]

fruit tree blossom is amazing and holding well despite the foul weather and the acers are a complete picture, as bright as flowers. Bulbs are nearly over but the primroses are holding their own. Lawn is still too boggy to mow but getting very long. My plug artichokes and squash have arrived and I plant to get gardening tomorrow as its still quite cold here.

[alavahalf]

Already had enough fresh asparagus from the allotment to say, I am now giving it away.
The tomatoes which I have grown in the shade at home are ready to go in the tunnel .. maybe late next week.
Mange tout will be planted this weekend.
Onions and garlic are already looking good.

[Chipchopper]

I was lucky enough to get on with mowing the grass, early on in the season and its now the greenest of green, as I've ever seen!.
As usual I've left a couple of patches for my mini wild flower meadows, which are coming on well especially the oxeye daisies.
In the shady woodland area, the ferns are all unfurling and the sweet woodruf is in full bloom.
My main objective is to create a garden, which is wildlife friendly, so I was very pleased to see that several species of birds have chosen to nest here.
The blueberry patch is looking good, so maybe I'll be getting some good crops, if my feathered friends allow.

[rowanwitch]

Been a garden nut since my grandad gave me my own corner when I was about 3, designed and built a number of gardens including multi level decks, raised beds, raised reflection pools and built in seating. Had an allotment for a while, Had new gardens, old ones that needed remodelling, a roof garden and now a balcony. Even seven floors up I enjoy visits to my bird feeders from blue and great tits, it is my sane place, and the closest I get to peace these days.

[Togo]

I think we have managed to nail it this week. 60 odd tubs and pots all planted up. Begonias, Dahlias, Fuschias, Geraniums, Busy Lizzies, Petunias, Stocks, Mesembryanthemum, Lobelia, Nasturtium, Sunflowers, Sweet Peas, Marigolds, Gazanias, and Calibrachoa, to name most if not all. The worst job is cleaning up the pots. The glazed ones are no problem just a bucket of soapy water and a sponge, but the 40 terracotta pots ( some quite large) have been a mare in years gone by. We have tried a stiff hand brush, a wire brush, but this year cracked it. If you have terracotta pots that need the winter wiping off use wire wool. Easy peasy. Just wear gardening gloves and dry them in the sun first. Some of my spuds can be lifted in a week or so, the broad beans, peas, cabbage, and onions are off to a flyer and I will be getting the Tomatoes, Cucumber, Courgettes and sweetcorn going next week after I have dismantled the cloche for another year. Strawberries and Blackcurrants have had a profusion of blossom so may crop well if I keep the pests in check.

We get summer visitors who say oooohh aren't you "lucky". They never seem to show up when we are toiling though. "She who must be obeyed" had a couple of handy man with van lads round yesterday(we know them well and know that they dispose properly) to clear away some of the accumulated rubbish that inevitably gets collected, and she points to the patio table and chairs and says ……...and those. Talk about surprise me(^_^) We are now looking for a new set.