May – life in the garden this month

If March sees the garden crouched in the starting blocks, and April with its bottom high in the air, then May is the 'GO!' moment – that explosive surge when everything bursts fully into action.

In the early part of the month, we enjoyed the ever-reassuring sight of perennials pushing up strong new growth with gusto. Not yet troubled by pests or weather – nor tall enough to flop over – there's something extremely pleasing about the garden in this 'virgin' state. It's when the varying textures and forms of the foliage can really be appreciated, particularly in the central bed of the Studio Garden.

With much of the planting in this bed now nicely mature, the perennials are quick to fill out in early May. The rolling contours and contrasting brushstrokes of the fresh foliage made for a beautiful scene.

A key job in the garden this month was planting out the many hundreds of annuals growing in the polytunnel. As you’ll know if you’ve ever visited Gasper Cottage, we use generous quantities of annuals to pack as much seasonal colour and interest into the garden as possible, refreshing them with later-flowering alternatives as the season progresses.

May's planting push focused on spring-sown summer annuals, including the usual suspects – Ammi majus (false bishop’s weed), Gypsophila elegans ‘Covent Garden’ and ‘Kermesina’ (annual baby’s breath), and Nigella damascena ‘Miss Jekyll’ and ‘Moody Blues’ (love-in-a-mist) – as well as a few new introductions. We’re especially excited to see how Salpiglossis sinuata ‘Kew Blue’ (velvet trumpet flower) will fare: a showy, dark-flowered annual from the nightshade family, currently making its Gasper debut in the Studio and New Ambition areas.

The annuals were slow to get going at first due to the almost complete lack of rainfall at the start of the month. Thankfully, a few days of downpour followed by plenty of sunshine seem to have done the trick.

Already in full flow are the autumn-sown hardy annuals, which were overwintered in the polytunnel and planted out in early spring. Our faithful marigold friends, Calendula officinalis ‘Snow Princess’ and ‘Indian Prince’, have been joined by two new cultivars, ‘Sherbert Fizz’ and ‘Neon’, in a bid to add more variation to what has proven itself a true Gasper stalwart.

Newcomer 'Neon'...

... and 'Sherbert Fizz'...

...join old timers 'Snow Princess'...

...and 'Indian Prince'.

Also starting to have weight in the borders are a few new poppies we’re trying this year: Papaver rhoeas ‘Pandora’ and ‘Amazing Grey’ (field poppies), and Papaver commutatum ‘Ladybird’ (ladybird poppy). We have attempted these species in the past with limited success, though we were inspired to try again by their stellar performance in last year’s annual meadow mix.

A change in the way we grow these (using deep plug trays to minimise root disturbance) seems to turned our fortunes around.

Ladybird poppies in the Hot Border

Of course, the May surge in growth is not limited to desirable plants – this is the month when perennial weeds remind us they’re still very much around. In one of the new areas, we’ve once again used our trusty black plastic sheeting. Laid over the ground, pinned down, and weighted with sleepers, it will be left in place for at least a year to suppress and eventually kill the weeds beneath.

This remains the most effective and sustainable method we’ve found for weed control, and a much easier alternative to repeated spraying or digging. And the more we reuse the black plastic, the less guilty we feel about its environmental footprint...

The sleepers were positioned neatly in an attempt to make an unsightly scene a little more... sightly.

Though we’re primarily focused on plant life, we also take great pleasure in the wildlife that decides to make a home not just in the garden, but in the unlikely environs of our polytunnel too.

Not one, but two birds nested inside the tunnel earlier this month. The first we noticed was a robin, which took up residence deep within a pile of compost bags.

Look closely and you can just about see the small, white eggs

Next to be discovered was a wren's nest, constructed snugly in the top of a potted jasmine. Fortunately, Jack noticed just as he was about to put the plant in the truck and drive it the mile and a half down the road to the garden.

The jasmine was left here until the chicks fledged.

Back in the garden, this slowworm raised a smile with its comically child-like approach to hiding.

We've also been very much enjoying the Forest Garden, which you may remember was created around the margins of the Orchard Meadow back in autumn 2024. Back then, the patchy assortment of young plants required a little faith and vision – and we’re pleased to say it has more than paid off.

All involved have been delighted with how the planting has matured – the groundcover plants are living up to their promise (particularly the wild strawberries!), the shrubs seem extremely happy (including the best blueberry plants we've ever achieved), and the whole thing is knitting together to create something much more than the sum of its parts.

A mown path meandering through the planting invites full immersion

With so many vigorous, spreading species grown together, it will be interesting to observe the ebb and flow of dominance.

We'd love you to come and see for yourself next month. Gasper Cottage will be opening its doors to the public for the annual NGS Garden Open Day on Sunday 14th June. Click here for more information.

To tempt you further, we shall leave you with a few more shots of the garden looking generally fabulous. Until next month!