Mark shares his May garden plans and discusses creating a truly show-worthy space
As the excitement for RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2024 builds, I’m filled with excitement and purpose. It’s time to transform my garden into a haven where every plant can thrive. I’ve been weeding the borders and adding a fresh layer of composted bark to retain moisture and keep the weeds at bay. The process is not just a chore but an essential part of gardening.
When my compost bins have rotted down, I’ll use this as a mulch, in addition to the bark, applying it c. 10cm thick everywhere. This will help improve the soil with organic matter as it rots down. Suddenly, a layer of mulch with its uniform consistency and colour tidies up the borders. It’s also good practice to mulch your pots and containers with something similar, or perhaps horticultural grit or a decorative stone, unless you plan to plant them up with summer bedding or underplanting larger specimens in pots and containers with herbaceous perennials, or ornamental grasses. It must be remembered that non-biodegradable mulches such as stone or pebbles will not help the soil’s fertility or structure. Always opt for a biodegradable mulch to improve your soil structure, such as the bark or homemade compost.
During the winter, while the plants were dormant, I planted a new hornbeam hedge along one of our boundary fences. To keep the weeds down, we laid weed-suppressing fabric around the hornbeam whips and then covered the fabric with more bark, leaving a clear ring around each stem so that there was no direct contact. If the bark was laid right up to the stem, it could weaken it, as the bark decomposes, softening it and making it more vulnerable to pests and diseases. The hornbeam started to show new signs of life during April, which is always a relief when, in essence, you are planting a bare root stick into the ground. But this is the cheapest and, in my opinion, also the best way to plant a new hedge.
I planted some blueberry bushes between the espaliered fruit last autumn. If you’re looking for a shrub with lovely blossom, gorgeous, tasty fruit, and magnificent ruby-coloured
