YAY for May!! May is such a fun month in the garden, the threat of snow is gone for most of us, unless you are gardening in some of the higher elevations here in Utah. I've made a list for you according to what I do here in my zone 6a/7b garden. By no means is it exhaustive, but it can give you a good idea of what you can plan to do this month in your garden.

Outside-

• By the first or second week you can plant out most of your warm season tender annuals. Some that you might wait on are celosia and peppers that like nights over 55 to 60 degrees. These can be planted later in the month.

• Dahlias can go in the ground safely, plant them about 4-6 inches deep. Even if we have some cooler weather in the beginning of the month they will still be working to emerge and should be just fine.

• Keep weeding! Your July self will thank you for staying on top of those pesky weeds.

• Pinch your cool season hardy annuals. Pinching involves removing the growing tip of a plant to encourage branching. Some cut flower varieties that benefit from pinching are snapdragons, agrostemma, godetia, trachelium, dahlias, marigolds, cosmos, zinnias, basil, and celosia.

• Take some time to enjoy your garden! Sit on a bench, swing in a hammock, have a bonfire.

• Add a birdbath, birds make excellent pest hunters. Welcome them to your yard with a place to drink and bathe as it warms up.

• Scout for pests like aphids. A strong jet of water from the hose can be a good way to handle an early infestation.

• Put netting on your cut flower varieties. Horizontal netting helps support long stems keeping them straight and upright.

Inside- 

• Start a second round of warm season annuals so that you have a succession of flowers to enjoy.

• Make sure you put on your sunscreen before heading out to the yard!

• Start a list of bulbs you want to add to your garden in the fall. You think you’ll remember that tulip variety you were drooling over but it’s best to take some notes.

Seeds to start -

• Direct sown flowers- Cosmos, amaranth, marigolds, zinnias, sunflowers

• Indoors-basil,  gomphrena, ageratum, celosia, (any of the above can also be started indoors if you have more luck that way)

• Direct sown vegetables- beans, cucumbers, summer and winter squash, melon, pumpkins.

• Plant out these vegetables and flowers- tomatoes, peppers (when it’s warm enough), eggplants, basil, zinnias, ageratum, gomphrena, annual asters, marigolds, cosmos, celosia, dahlias, geranium, amaranth

Happy gardening in May! See you with a new list in June.