May is the unfurling of butterflies' wings and the breaking of the clouds to reveal an infinite landscape - it is even as joyous as the first smile of recognition on a baby's face. It is the point in the year when light and growth soar to reveal not just the trembling beauty of the world around you but also unlimited promise ahead. So every precious May moment has to be treasured and honoured.
Mind you, May is never easy. It gives with overflowing generosity but it can ask a lot of gardeners too. The weather is often fickle. It can be shockingly cold and deceptively warm - sometimes on consecutive days. Weeds are growing faster than anything else and at times it feels as though the garden is straining to run away and escape from even the most conscientious gardener.
All of a sudden there are weeds where soil lay clear and blissfully dormant all winter, weeds in among the perennials, shrubs and hedges, weeds in the veg patch and the herb garden, and weeds jostling up against the weeds that were left unweeded all winter. Leave those weeds at this time of year and you will have them all summer long.
Going underground
Esta historia es de la edición May 2023 de BBC Gardeners World.
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Esta historia es de la edición May 2023 de BBC Gardeners World.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
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We love June
We're cruising towards midsummer: this is a month full of love and abundance. Wherever you look there will be something in your garden that lifts the spirits and makes you glad to be alive. We have colour to cheer us, we have leaves that still have the bounce and freshness of small puppies, we have the first berries fattening up, there are birds frantically parenting very demanding broods of chicks, the bees are all over the place, it's prime barbecue and picnic season, and we have lawns as lush and green as billiard tables. What a month to fall in love.
Your wildlife month
The female will usually lay one clutch of up to eight eggs
An edible garden in pots
Join Lucy Bellamy in creating an edible container garden for all seasons, as she harvests what's ripe now and starts later-season crops
Garden craft with kids
Fill the summer holidays with fun nature makes for kids, including botanical printed t-shirts, seed sowing in upcycled food containers and a hanging home for beneficial insects. Jaime Johnson and family show you how
Secrets of a COLOURFUL GARDEN
Using a colour theme is an easy way to give any garden a strong, unified character - Nick Bailey shows you how
Indoor plants, outdoor treats
Break the rules and give your house plants a summer holiday, with Michael Perry's mixed pot display ideas
YOUR PRUNING MONTH
The first few weeks of summer are a good time to get spring-flowering plants in shape. Follow Frances' guide for best results
Gardening for wellbeing
As the pressures of modern living bear down, our outside spaces can provide soothing respite for our minds and bodies, says Arit Anderson
Your greenhouse guide to A fruitful summer
Get the best from your greenhouse fruit and vegetable crops this summer, with these tried and trusted growing tips from Adam Frost
Stars of the show
Agapanthus is the perfect midsummer plant, flowering with spectacular blooms from June onwards and, as Monty explains, it loves to grow in a pot