Gardening Tips for Late May in the Flower Garden
This could be just about the busiest time in the flower garden of the whole year. We have many flowers and plants to put out including those that we have over-wintered. Following are an assortment of gardening tips to keep in mind for May in the flower garden.
If your geraniums and fuchsias have become thoroughly hardened by now by increasing time spent outdoors, then it may be time to get them out of their pots and planted in your flower garden where you want them. You should already know where you are planning to include them in your garden design.
If you have ivy-leafed geraniums, they can be treated in one of two ways once planted. The “growths” can be pegged down to the soil or they can be tied up to stakes. It all depends upon whether you want them to be low growing or to use them as tall plants. Additionally this type of geranium is excellent in hanging baskets to have around your patio, porch or what have you. Wire baskets can be bought, lined with moss, filled with potting soil and then the geraniums planted. Soon you will have long trails of flowers and foliage hanging down on all sides.
You might want to think about having some small tubs or large pots to stand at the entrance to your flower garden plot or near your porch steps. Some think that no plant looks better in such than the pink-flowered hydrangea. These flowers will bloom for months and look nice. In many parts of the country they need no winter protection. You should consider raising your tub off the ground depending on what it is made of to keep the bottom from rotting out. Try placing it on bricks. Old timers suggested putting a layer of ashes or small ring of wood beneath such tubs to prevent worms from entering through the drainage holes in the bottom.
If you find you have not grown enough plants for your use from seed, then there are always places to purchase more at this time of the year. Remember to get healthy looking plants with strong stems. Do not get spindly specimens or wilted plants thinking you can revive them.
Keep in mind the combination of colors as you put in your flowering plants. As with all things, what you consider an acceptable combination is up to you. Some people feel that pink and red flowers, as in your geraniums perhaps, should have some distance between them. The red may overpower the pink. White flowers can be placed near anything and they show off well even at a distance.
Likewise, your flower garden may start to feel too cramped because there are just too many plants you want to grow. One possibility is to remove the ones that have already flowered. Maybe transplant them elsewhere in a nice cool spot that is shaded. Keep them shaded until they adapt to the new location. We are talking perennails here as any annuals should be tossed if they have completed blooming. That is, unless you love the foliage or are after seed and this is not recommended for hybrids.
This may seem like too much work and it is possible to harm the moved plants if not done correctly. It would be better to plan for some room in your garden design to plant annuals in the area around your perennials after flowering time. Even better would be to take into account the foliage of the perennials to provide a show or backdrop to other plants after their flowers have gone by.