May

such as African daisy, ageratum, celosia, cockscomb, marigold, pentas, vinca (Madagascar periwinkle), petunia, portulaca, salvia, and zinnia for sunny areas. Geraniums & New Guinea impatiens are wonderful if you have afternoon shade. For shady areas, use begonias, coleus, and impatiens. Mix annuals in your perennial beds to have continuous summer blooms!
Scout your annuals, perennials, and shrubs for pest. Aphids, spider mites, whiteflies, snails, and slugs continue to be on the prowl this month. You will not see the snails and slugs at work but signs of their presence will be noticed by the large ragged holes in leaves and the mucus trails they leave wherever they crawl. They feed at night and on cloudy days. Snail and slug control: handpicking, trapping with a shallow pan of stale beer sunken into the ground, barriers of diatomaceous earth sprinkled around seedlings (reapply after rain), and poisonous slug baits. Wash aphids, spider mites, and whiteflies with a strong stream of water. Insecticidal soap, insecticides, and miticides will keep their numbers in check. Spider mites are especially fond of chrysanthemums, coneflowers, daylilies, and phlox.
Thin out all new shoots of garden phlox clumps (when they reach 8-10" tall) except for 4-5 of the well-spaced healthy ones to allow for good air circulation. Thinning helps prevent disease (especially powdery mildew), improves appearance of the plants, and produces sturdier stems.
Shear some of the spring-flowering perennials by one-half after flowering. Among them are cheddar pinks, evergreen candytuft, and moss phlox. Garden chrysanthemums can be sheared when the new growth reaches 4-6" in length. Shearing an inch off the top will delay flowering and encourage bushiness and the production of a lot of flower buds.

May is here and the fluctuating weather patterns of April are a thing of the past. Now that good weather is here for a bit, the garden tip for the month is to enjoy the fruits of your labor and spend some time outside before the "hot, hazy, and humid" days of summer fall upon us. If you don't have a garden of your own to enjoy, a trip to Duke Gardens is a great way to spend an afternoon outside.
IN YOUR GARDEN, NOW IS A GOOD TIME TO:
Over-plant bulb beds with annuals. Take care to avoid injuring the bulbs when planting. Although cool-season annuals such as pansies & violas may still be flowering, the heat will make them leggy. Pull them out and replace them with heat loving summer annuals