Spring into action: Alan Titchmarsh's tips on gardening for May
THIS is the best month in the gardening calendar, so get out there and make the most of it…
This is the best month in the gardening calendar, so get out there and make the most of it…
So if your patch is looking a little underwhelming, get down to your local garden centre or nursery now and give it a shot in the arm – or the beds and borders.
My favourite flowering shrub inMay is Viburnum plicatum ‘Mariesii’ with its statuesque tiered arrangement of branches, which this month are decorated not only with fresh green, deeply veined leaves but also with the cream confetti of its flowerheads. It is great for dappled shade at the back of the border.
Tulips will give you instant colour
May is also the month for rhododendrons – many of them are huge and they all demand lime-free soil, but even those of us with tiny gardens or backyards, or those who garden on chalk, can have rhododendrons in tubs.
The dwarf varieties may sound unattractive but many are wonderfully generous with their flowers – try the hybrids of Rhododendron yakushimanum.There is also the aristocrat of climbers, wisteria, which will work well on a sunny south or west-facing wall.
If you buy a grafted plant of a named variety, you’ll be assured of flowers within just a year or two – provided you remember to prune it in bothJanuary and July.
Tulips will give you instant colour but you’ll have to buy them in pots, which can be a touch expensive. You could also treat yourself to a tree peony. These beauties, which have an open-branch framework, come in red, yellow, apricot, frothy pink or white and are bound to impress.
They will suit any half-decent soil in a sheltered spot, and they can give you the kind of thrill you need at what is the best moment in the gardening year.
Don’t miss Alan’s gardening column in today’s Daily Express. For more information on Alan’s range of gardening products, visit alantitchmarsh.com.