I'm confused.

Today, in Hampshire, it is spring. Yesterday felt like autumn and the day before that - winter. I have had bursts of horticultural enthusiasm whilst battling with a voice in my head that whispers "Forget it mate - it isn't even spring yet".

Staring at the calendar gives me the hard facts I need. It quells my inner couch potato: next month has the longest day of the year, my birthday, Wimbledon and back ache from trying to play cricket again. So I had better get on with it!

Jobs for May include, (or should I say "enjoyable tasks" to keep your inner couch potato from grabbing the steering wheel?):

Lift and divide overcrowded clumps of spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils.
Get your mowing underway if you have not already done so. Start at a high setting and reduce the height of the blade as the season progresses. Feed your lawn with a suitable nitrogen-rich fertilizer.
Prune spring-flowering shrubs when they have finished flowering. This category includes Chaenomoles (quince), Choisya and Ribes.
Get stuck into the large Spireas and Clematis montana by thinning out a third of the growth.
Trim evergreens such as Viburnum tinus and show the prickly Pyracanthus who is boss by cutting back the shoots that are getting away.
Watch out for Viburnum beetles: despite their size they can be highly destructive . Try removing these pesky little blighters by hand before resorting to chemical warfare.
Thin out aquatic plants. It is still a good time of year to plant new ones too.
Keep on top of the weeds by hoeing.
Be patient with bedding plants: if you do buy and plant them out then be aware that there are probably a few frosts still to come. Protect your infant displays with some sort of horticultural fleece.

And even if it rains a bit - water, water, water - your shrubs, your new trees, your bedding, yourself, your children...you get the picture.

Then sit back and enjoy whatever season it happens to be that day - I gather we are in for some pay-back after all that rain!

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