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Here is our monthly round-up of news, top-tips and ideas to make the most of your garden this May!
The arrival of May can only mean that summer is just around the corner, as your garden bursts into life with lush greenery and budding flowers!
In this month’s round-up:
• Bank holiday opening hours
• May Garden Checklist
• Protecting your garden posts with Postsaver Sleeves
• Ideas and Inspiration for transforming your garden
• New treats at the Little Acorn
• Yorkshire Wildlife Trust marks 80 years of conservation
• Advice on fast-growing climbers
• What to Sow and Grow in May
• Book of the month
Visit us for all your gardening and landscaping essentials!
Both of our centres will be open as usual, both May bank holiday Mondays, under the following hours:
Weekdays: 08:00 – 17:00
Saturday: 08:30 – 17:00
Sunday: 10:00 – 16:00
Weekdays: 08:00 – 17:00
Saturday: 08:30 – 17:00
Sunday: CLOSED
• Ventilate your greenhouse – On warmer days, open greenhouse vents to allow greater air flow. It is unlikely to be warm enough to leave them open on an evening, however. As it gets warmer, using netting, shutters, or shade paint to protect plants against strong sun can also be beneficial.
• Prune – There are several plants that benefit from pruning in May: lilac, choisya, cherry laurel, hibiscus, and chocolate vine. You can pick up secateurs and protective gloves from our centres!
• Plant potted single late tulips outdoors – There are around 2,500 varieties of ulip that have been grown in Britain, but Group 5 – the single late tulips – are renowned for being reliable and easy to grow! Acclimatise your potted tulips to the outdoors by gradually moving them from shade to full sun, then gently remove them from their pot and plant them outdoors in a deep hole, about the size of the container.
• Make compost – Mix vegetable waste, grass clippings, and brown material (such as leaves and torn paper) into a compost bin to make your very own potting mix or soil conditioner.
• Keep herbs growing all season – Now is a good time to split pot-grown seedlings, using a richer compost (either in a container or in the garden) and allowing more root room to keep them growing.
• Save your spring bulbs – Take out pot-grown bulbs and lay out on a tray until the foliage dies back. The leaves will now easily separate from the bulbs and can be composted, while the bulbs should be stored somewhere cool and dry until autumn.
• Dig out lawn weeds – Remove weeds but avoid using harsh chemicals where possible.
• Protect fruit – Add netting to soft fruit to protect it from squirrels and birds.
Guaranteed to extend the life of your posts, Pro-Wrap post rot protectors guard your posts against ground-line rot and decay, the number one cause of fence and gate post failure.
Get one sleeve per gatepost at Earnshaws for just £1.99!
Watch the video here.
With summer just around the corner, May is the perfect time to transform your outdoor space and bring your garden plans to life.
Our displays have been updated and refreshed for 2026, and our on-site shops are stocked with tools, accessories and essentials to finish the job!
• Paving and landscaping – Create structure and flow in your garden with durable paving and landscaping materials, ideal for patios, pathways and seating areas.
• Arches and arbours – Add height, character and support for climbing plants while creating beautiful garden focal points.
• Planters and pots – Instantly refresh your space with seasonal planting, perfect for patios, doorways and smaller garden areas.
• Decorative gravels – A simple, low-maintenance way to add texture and colourful finishing touches.
• Decking – Create a practical and stylish outdoor area in your garden, perfect for relaxing, dining and entertaining.
Our Midgley Centre is the ideal destination for the whole family to enjoy – especially now the days are getting sunnier!
We have two nature trails of differing lengths at Midgley for you to explore, with historical facts about the area dotted throughout – follow the nature trail in search of magical fairies, designed by local artist Lanson Moore.
You can also visit our Little Acorn coffee stop – our vintage horse box turned cafe serves a variety of hot and cold food and drink daily.
The Little Acorn is now stocking Yorvale Ice Cream. Award-winning, real dairy ice cream, crafted with sustainability in mind, at Fossfield Farm in Yorkshire for over 35 years.
What’s next? Pawvale — ice cream for dogs! Treat your four-legged friends to something special with Pawvale dog-friendly ice cream, made with natural ingredients and specially crafted for canine tummies.
This year, the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust is celebrating its 80th anniversary!
The Trust was founded in 1946 with the protection of Askham Bog, and has grown into one of the UK’s leading conservation charities, now caring for more than 100 nature reserves across the county.
The need to protect, restore and save wildlife has never been more urgent, with nearly 1 in 5 species in Yorkshire declining by over 25% in the past 30 years. The work of the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust is more important than ever for protecting wild places and supporting nature’s recovery across the region.
Discover how to get involved here.
Spring is the ideal time to plant fast-growing climbers in your garden, as the warming soil allows them to establish strong roots before the more intense heat of summer arrives. Fast-growing annuals are perfect for bringing an immediate splash of colour to your garden, whilst perennial climbers offer a more permanent, structure-covering colour.
Here are some of the best fast-growing climbers to plant during spring in preparation for the summer months:
• Black-Eyed Susan Vine (Thunbergia alata) – These plants are exceptionally fast climbers, producing vibrant yellow, orange, or white flowers, perfect for sunny trellis, pots or hanging baskets.
• Morning Glory (Ipomoea purpurea) – Known for their rapid growth and brilliant, trumpet-shaped flowers that bloom from summer to autumn.
• Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus) – While often used as a groundcover, climbing nasturtiums grow quickly and produce bright orange, yellow, and red flowers.
• Sweet Pea (Lathyrus odoratus) – A traditional cottage climber, fast-growing if planted in spring, providing fragrant, colourful flowers through mid-summer.
• Clematis ‘Polish Spirit’ and ‘Rouge Cardinal’ – Both are Viticella type clematis, known for being incredibly fast-growing and producing huge volumes of flowers from mid-summer through late summer.
• Passionflower (Passiflora caerulea) – An extremely fast-growing, evergreen-to-semi-evergreen climber that produces exotic, white-and-blue flowers in summer, followed by orange fruits.
• Campsis (Trumpet Vine) ‘Indian Summer’ – A vigorous climber that produces stunning orange, trumpet-shaped flowers from late spring right through to autumn.
• Common Jasmine (Jasminum officinale) – A fast-growing climber with white, highly fragrant flowers that bloom from summer to autumn.
• Improve the Soil – Add compost or well-rotted manure to the planting hole to ensure fast, healthy growth.
• Provide Support – These vines need a trellis, wire, or arch to scramble up.
• Root Protection – For clematis, ensure the base of the plant is shaded, perhaps with pebbles or smaller plants, to keep roots cool.
• Watering – Water newly planted climbers regularly to establish them before summer heat.
• Beetroot – Your summer crop of beetroot can be sewn outside in May.
• Bouquet dill – Water the area and sow the seed directly into 1cm-deep drills, then lightly cover with soil. Keep the soil well-watered. Dill also produces white flower heads which attract hugely beneficial pollinators, including bees and hoverflies.
• Spinach – Sow from early spring to the middle of June.
• Chicory – High in fibre and carotenoid antioxidants, Chicory can be sown outdoors in May for harvest in August.
• Mushrooms – Spring planting is ideal for growing mushrooms outdoors on mushroom logs!
• Onion & shallots – Can be planted outside as soon as you are confident the last frost has passed.
• Courgette – CFibre, potassium, and folate-rich courgettes can also be planted outdoors in May. Cut when they are about 10cm long, to encourage more courgettes to grow over a longer period, instead of leaving them to grow larger and larger.
• Kale – Ideal for growing in small spaces, kale should be planted outside in May to be harvested in December.
• Carrots – Can be planted outside in loose, sandy soil in May for harvesting in Autumn.
• Leeks – Sew Leeks outside in May for a bumper harvest from September onwards.
• Potatoes – May is the last month ideal for growing potatoes. This staple should be sown outside for harvest between August and September.
• Strawberries – Borders, planters and even hanging baskets are all appropriate places to grow strawberries. Pick a spot that gets around 6-10 hours of sunlight a day.
The Bee Spotter’s Guide by Dave Goulson
A beautifully illustrated guide to Britain’s 200+ bee species, helping readers identify common bumblebees, solitary bees, and clever bee mimics while exploring their hidden lives and habitats.
Available from Amazon here.
“Gardening is the art that uses flowers and plants as paint, and the soil and sky as canvas.”
– Elizabeth Murray
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