Blog: It’s getting hard to choose as the garden blooms!
It’s almost easier choosing plants in the colder months, as the range is limited – what to grow in May offers many varieties. However, I’ve picked out the best plants growing in my garden that are reasonably priced, widely available and easy to cultivate for beginners. They must really earn their keep, and I think you’ll agree, this trio certainly does that, performing right through the summer.
By this time of the year, it’s all about how plants perform in combination with others. Here, I’ve mentioned other plants that go well with my chosen varieties and grow successfully in my garden.
What to grow in May – Astrantia
Astrantias, also called Hattie’s pincushion or masterwort, are herbaceous perennials with lots of pincushion flowers, surrounded by greenish-white bracts all summer. Mine have been in flower as early as April. You’ll get a second flush into early autumn if you cut them back after the first flowers have finished.
Even though my garden is dry, lots of added organic matter and mulch make them perform well, as they prefer moist soil. They need to be seen en masse, so plant them as a group, or they’ll look lost.
There are many varieties, but my favourites are at each end of the colour range, Buckland and Claret. Buckland’s the taller of the two, at 90cm and can flop a bit. However, I grow mine at the edge of the ‘big-leaved border’, so they peek out from under Rodgersia and ornamental rhubarb (Rheum palmatum) leaves – see below. The flowers are very pale pink and green, and really light up a shady area.
Meanwhile, Claret is a real beauty, with deep red pincushion flowers. It’s much shorter at 60cm and is more suitable for growing in a pot. It’s at the front of the long border surrounded by the hot orange of Euphorbia griffithii Fireglow, the silver leaves and forget-me-not blue flowers of Brunnera Looking Glass and the yellow foliage of Acer shirasawanum Jordan (sometimes called the Full Moon maple).
Rheum palmatum – ornamental or Chinese rhubarb
This is a plant for those who like drama! From a knobbly, bare crown in early spring, deep red fat buds burst open to (often very rude-looking) stems. These have huge, 75cm long leaves, purple when new, fading to dark green with purple-tinged undersides.
It likes moisture and is greedy – and no wonder. From that bare crown in March, my two plants are in full flower, with stalks about 2.5m high! The panicles of tiny white flowers are impressive rather than pretty – I grow them for the leaves mostly. I swear you can see them growing day by day. It’s ideal for a bog garden or at the edge of a pond, which is where one of mine lives. I planted it on top of a bit of pond liner. When I have to top up the pond, I let it overflow, so this is one part of the garden that is damp.
However, my other Rheum palmatum specimen lives in the so-called tropical bed in a much drier environment. If it starts to flag, it’s right next to the water butts. A decent mulch in spring and autumn also helps conserve moisture.
A word of caution – all parts of the plant are toxic, not just the leaves, as in ordinary rhubarb. Don’t mix them up! If you live in a very windy site, the leaves often shred too. I take that chance every year.
What to grow in May – Welsh poppies
Papavar cambricum, sometimes seen as Meconopsis cambrica, is a must for every garden. It’s one of those rare plants that will grow happily in sun or shade, so it can really tie a planting scheme together across different light levels. It’s a perennial that rampantly self-seeds, softening path edges and gravel gardens. I simply pull out anything I don’t need. My poppies are lemon-yellow, but they do come in orange, with flowers 5cm across. The fresh green, divided foliage is also very attractive.
I didn’t plant my Welsh poppies; they came with the garden! They concentrate in the partly shaded area of the long border, mixed with Alliums, golden and dark Ravenswing cow parsley, sweet rocket and foxgloves. If you want to grow them, simply sow seeds from March to May, water them in and leave them to it. They’re also superb for pollinators, as the bumblebee pictured will testify.
