MAY 2026

As we head into the final month of spring the garden feels much more like summer as many of the roses start into flower after some warm dry weeks.

Much of the fruit blossom has now disappeared as the trees get on with the job of developing fruit ready for the summer and autumn. As always the loquats will be the first across the finish line, with the other greenhouse trees - the nectarine, figs, peach and apricot, following closely behind.

As these plants go about their work quietly and understatedly the Vegetable Garden is beginning to fill up. With help from the students on the Vegetable Growing Course the hardier of the vegetables have been planted including some of the Climbing Beans, Cabbages, Lettuces and Carrots. We have been experimenting with a top layer of sheep’s fleece this year, which has proved an interesting talking point on many of the courses; the fleece is rich in nitrogen that will be released into the soil as the fibres decompose, it also benefits the garden by conditioning the soil, suppressing weeds, and deterring slugs and snails - very useful for the Brassica crops!

The warmer days tend to bring a round of routine garden maintenance: watering, feeding, dead-heading and of course weeding.

Whether you prefer to spend a little time each day removing weeds or would rather tackle chunks of the garden in one day’s hefty task it is useful to have a garden hoe to hand. These nifty, versatile tools come in a range of shapes and sizes to suit particular preferences. 

The main intention of hoeing is to sever the top growth of the weeds from their roots, and is best done on a warm dry day to allow the weeds to more readily shrivel and die. The action also helps to loosen the top inch of soil, preventing crusts from forming on the surface.

It is a useful back-saving way of weeding and allows you to stay off much of the soil thereby preventing compaction.

With plenty of jobs to do at this time of year and yet more through the summer it can be easy to become fully focussed on the garden's maintenance, but it is worth while taking the time to enjoy the garden.

In May many plants in the garden are at their newest and freshest, the days are long and the heat is pleasant rather than oppressive. A good reminder to indulge in the beauty around us.