Gardening Jobs for May 2026 

By Rog Leppard

Gardener and garden writer based in Ashurst Bridge, Hampshire; owner of English Cottage Chic Gardening, providing professional garden and horticultural consultancy service.

“May is the month when nature is reborn, and everything is possible." – Unknown

Hello, 

May is the month when the real gardening begins, yes there is lots to do, but remember to take time to stop, to look and to enjoy the beauty your garden.

If you are looking for a few gardening jobs for the month, here are “just a few” things to keep you busy.

This month marks the transition into summer. Don't be in a rush to move patio pots and hanging baskets outside though. Check when the last frost date is in your area as you can safely move tender plants outdoors after this. The same goes for tender veg, such as courgettes and sweetcorn.

You can encourage your tulips to flower again next year by feeding them with tomato feed and removing any flowers that have faded. Bulbs in pots are best removed from the pots after they have finished and then replanted deeply (around 15cm deep) in the border. Ones that are left in their pots tend to produce lots of small bulbs that produce leaves, rather than flowers, in their second year.   

Sow half-hardy annual seeds outdoors.

Spring flowering clematis, such as Montana’s are pruned after flowering, cutting out overcrowded and dead stems. Cut back remaining stems as much as you need to keep the plant tidy.

Once this year’s polyanthus and primroses have finished flowering dig them up and divide the plants into smaller sections, replanting them in a shady part of the garden to bloom again next year.

Water and feed containers regularly, as the weather warms watering can become a daily or even twice daily task. Supplement container plants with balanced liquid feed every 2 - 4 weeks to promote healthy growth.

Thoroughly inspect plants for pests and diseases — early prevention is much easier than curing an infestation.

Lift and divide overcrowded clumps of daffodils and other spring-flowering bulbs.

Put straw under strawberries to prevent young fruit rotting.

Sow sweetcorn in blocks to aid pollination and sow root vegetables.

It is an idea to take photos of your plants to see the progress from year to year, judge if you have spaced plants properly and in the quieter times sit and see how things could be changed for the better.

Start planting out summer bedding plants towards the end of this month.

Prune forsythia after flowering If you don’t do this every year, they quickly get unmanageable and flower less well. Using sharp loppers and secateurs cut a quarter of the old growth to the base. Also remove diseased, dead, dying, and wispy stems cutting them to the ground. Finally prune stems that have just flowered to two buds above the previous year’s growth.

Mow established lawns once a week now that the grass is growing well, each time you mow lower the mower blades slightly. Try not to be hasty in lowering the mower blades or the lawn will be scalped. This may lead to the lawn turning yellow and cause bare patches. 

Remove faded spring bedding, such as wallflowers and forget-me-nots once faded and add to your compost bin.

Harden off tender plants raised indoors but bring them back in at night to protect from late frosts.

In the middle of May, around the time of the Chelsea Flower Show, do the ‘Chelsea Chop’: Cutting the stems of flowering herbaceous perennials such as sedums and asters will keep plants smaller and encourage more flowers. This should not be done on flowers which flower only once, or flowers which are intended to be tall and striking.

Keep an eye on slugs, especially when it’s been raining. Indeed, during a rain shower is the perfect time to get outside and find them.

Weeding: Five minutes here and there (rather than a whole afternoon) with a hand or long hoe saves fingers and backs.

In the flower border any frost-damaged leaves should be pruned back to the next healthy bud or side shoot. Frost damaged plants often recover so don’t pull them up but wait until summer, giving them time to regrow. If there’s no sign by mid-summer you can pull them up.

Look after your finished spring bulbs for next year. Once they’ve gone over, resist the temptation to cut back the foliage. Instead, let it die and break down on its own and add liquid fertilizer all around the clumps. This will give you an even better display next spring.

Harden off half-hardy plants by leaving them outside during the day and bringing them back under cover at night for 7 to 10 days before planting outdoors.

Continue dividing herbaceous border perennials to improve vigour and create new plants.

Tie in rambling and climbing roses. Laying the stems horizontally will help to produce more flowers.

Tie in sweet pea plants with sweet pea support rings to encourage them to climb.

Cut back flowered shoots of choisya to promote a second flush of flowers in autumn.

As always, I wish you happy gardening 

Rog