MAY CLIPPINGS

PLANT (OR SOW) COURGETTES WHEN THERE IS NO MORE DANGER OF FROST.

These love a deep, rich soil. Keep a lookout for slugs and set slug pubs or grapefruit skins to trap them.

Plant French beans,

spacing them about 15cm apart in good soil and a sunny spot. The climbing ones need supports but are easier to pick.

Treat yourself to fragrant pinks,

setting them into well-drained soil in a sunny position.

Fill empty borders cheaply

by sowing seed of Cosmos bipinnatus, such as ‘Cupcakes’, pink and white ‘Capriola’ or ‘Psyche White’ for quick-growing, fern-leaved plants and copious blooms.

FAQ

What should I do with spring-flowering bulbs when they have finished?

Daffodils and other bulbs will flower year after year if their foliage is allowed to flourish and refuel them. Tulips are not as reliable, so lift bulbs as the leaves die back and let them dry off.

What is No Mow May?

Started by the conservation charity Plantlife, the aim is to let lawns grow to allow wildflowers to open and encourage bees and other pollinating insects. Why not just mow the edges and a path through the middle and leave grass at different heights for summer.