The season of late spring is probably the busiest one of the year in the flower garden. It is an in-between time; the spring display is finishing and these plants need to be tidied up and allowed to rest. Those which are coming on to take their place will be growing fast and will need constant attention. You will also be able to start off some of next year’s spring-flowering plants. The grass will be growing so rapidly that the lawn will need cutting every week.

In late spring there can be a slow but steady rise in temperature. By now, winter is definitely over, though there may be strong cold winds blowing through the whole period, but in sunny sheltered gardens some days can be really hot. The night temperature is the important one now and a constantly low one, even sometimes down to freezing, explains why some plants and seedlings are very slow to grow. This is where cloches and frames are so useful for protecting and bringing plants on so that they are ready for the hot weather.

There will be some soil preparation to do outdoors for sowing and planting; late spring is the best time to plant submerged water plants, including water lilies. The scene in the greenhouse can also be fairly active, with pricking out, sowing and potting all to be done, for summer displays of exotic plants and for flowering next winter and early spring. The greenhouse will need even more care with temperature control, and watering will be increasingly necessary.

Watchfulness will be the key word for pests and diseases. Greenfly and caterpillars will be the most annoying of these in general, though on certain plants there will be specific troubles through the season: capsid bugs on chrysanthemums, earwigs on dahlias, mildew on Michaelmas daisies or rust on antirrhinums. Birds are occasionally a nuisance, but not nearly to the same extent as they are on vegetables and fruit.