May is packed full of things for gardeners to see and do. The RHS Chelsea Flower Show (21-15 May) gets the flower show season off to a blooming lovely start; Cultivation Street is now open for entries so anyone or any street with a fabulous front garden should have a go www.daviddomoney.com/cultivation-street; and the Love the Plot campaign that encourages novice or non gardeners to be creative with whatever outside space they have is in full swing.

One of simplest starter ideas for anyone new to gardening is to create a herb garden. From sage to thyme, rosemary to clipped bay and flowering chives, you can combine a variety of herbs in one space that will produce long-lasting displays as well as regular pickings for the kitchen. Successful herb garden designs often define the space using brick pavers, dividing-up the area with small paths to provide easy access for picking, but for small spaces herbs can also be grown in pots. Low-growing thyme is a herb garden favourite, perfect for making a herb carpet or filling gaps between paving. Mint is a versatile herb but best kept contained to prevent it invading borders and flowerbeds, so grow it in a pot or large bottomless bucket. Rosemary is a hardy shrub with aromatic leaves and has a long flowering season, and chives provide an ornamental floral display to any border or planter. An assortment of culinary herb plants and seeds are available now as Plant of the Moment in garden centres around the UK.

As many herbs have Mediterranean origins they like being in the sun, so the timing is perfect as May sees more sunshine and longer days – which means more time for gardening. Here’s what the experts have on their ‘to do’ list for this month:

‘As bulbs fade and herbaceous borders grow in leaps and bounds, it is now clear that summer is approaching. Sowing and planting out bedding can begin, depending on regional weather variations, and you can take softwood cuttings. It’s also time to get back into the lawn mowing regime, as the lawn will be loving the warmer temperatures this month brings.’

RHS

‘Spring is well underway now, and it’s a busy time for the garden. Spring bulbs are making way for the buds of summer flowers, filled with the promise of colour to come. This is the month to plant summer bedding in borders or containers. Prune any shrubs that flowered in spring as – so cut off any dead and damaged stems and then remove about a third of the oldest flowering stems. May is also the time to plant out vegetable plugs and seedlings. If you sowed the seeds indoors or under cover, make sure to harden the plants off.’

David Domoney,

TV gardener and presenter

‘May is the month when warm days begin to beckon tender plants onto the terrace, but beware the cooler night temperatures, which will turn them purple at the edges. The process of hardening-off involves gradually accustoming plants to the rigours of outdoor life, and should not be rushed, but taken in orderly stages. Move plants from the greenhouse to the frame: prop the frame light open during the day, then shut it at night; leave the lights up; then, plant out at the end of the month. All of us needed to learn to walk before we could run.’

Country Life

If you Grow Your Own, and once all risk of frost has passed this month, plant out tomatoes, courgettes and pumpkins that were previously sown under cover and other young plants can be planted out once conditions are suitable. Sow French beans, runner beans, squash, cucumbers and pumpkin seeds directly into prepared beds outside along with cauliflowers and purple sprouting broccoli for harvesting next winter. Peas need staking with pea sticks, netting, or pruned twigs from the garden and you can also plant out alpine strawberry seedlings.

National Garden Gift Vouchers can be bought and redeemed at around 2,000 outlets in the UK, with more than 90,000 garden plants and products on offer. Visit www.thevouchergarden.co.uk to see the outlets that sell and accept them. You can become a fan and buy vouchers on Facebook www.facebook.com/

GardenGiftVouchers or follow

on twitter @GardenGiftVouch

or via the blog at