Gardening

A time of transition in the garden

May is the month that completes the transition from the mild days of autumn to the cold of winter. The stunning colours of autumn are starting to fade as we move in to the heart of winter. Many plants relish this change of season, luckily the bugs don’t!

Key points for this month: Garden Colour

• Refresh your pots with winter flowering annuals. • Don’t give up on winter seedlings, they can still be planted. • Garlic is available late May so start planning your garden bed. • Lift summer flowering bulbs and store them. • Continue to plant trees and shrubs before winter sets in. • Do a final clean up in the garden. • Collect fallen autumn leaves and compost them. Kitchen Garden

Sow green crops of lupin and mustard in any spaces you are leaving empty for digging into the soil for green manure. Refresh soil for crops by adding new compost and sheep pellets. Plant seedlings: broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, Brussels sprouts, silverbeet, spinach, onion and silverbeet. Protect from the cold while they are young. Sow seeds: spinach, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, lettuce, onions, and peas. Transplant as the weather warms and when showing at least two sets of true leaves. Broad beans can be planted directly in to the soil, stagger your sowing for a continuous harvest. Plant garlic and shallots bulbs; give them plenty of winter sun. Check your citrus trees as they will be heavy with fruit, remove fruit and shorten any that are bending under the weight. Better to lose a few fruit than the whole branch. Remove old fruit from the ground around all fruit trees to break the life cycle of bugs. Re-plant your pots as necessary with winter annuals, add new fertiliser for the season.

Sow seeds: alyssum, calendula, cineraria, cornflower, lobelia, lupin, nemesia, stock. Transplant to the garden as the weather warms and when they are showing at least two sets of true leaves.

Plant seedlings: calendula, cineraria, nemesia, pansies, polyanthus, poppies, primula, snapdragon, stock, viola and wallflower.

Plant lilliums bulbs in a warm sheltered position, they can be left in place for a few years. Lift dahlia tubers and gladioli corms remove any soil and store in a dry place. Trim back perennials, divide and replant straight away. Trees and Shrubs

Plant new trees and shrub before the soil becomes too wet.

Continue weed control while the weather is still dry. Plant camellias, azaleas and rhododendrons for winter colour.

Collect autumn leaves for composting. Refresh shrub beds by mulching with compost. Continue weed control; don’t spray within five hours of rain. Watch out for frosts, some plants may need protection. Cover with frost cloth, drape frost cloth over but not touching the plants. If it is too close a hard frost will freeze it to the plants.