Not everyone is a fan of blousy scented or indeed colourful flowers. But how can you resist the lure and temptation of the beautiful Sweet Pea family?

I have been privilaged enough to be introduced to the Sweet Pea family by winning some seeds in a competition that I entered and forgot about a couple of years ago. I won some delightfully pastel coloured peas called Lathyrus odoratus ‘Sweet Dreams Mixed’ from T&M and I was completely bowled over when my seeds germinated, grew and flowered.

Having always been a food grower with no real interest at all in flowers or plants, I was suddenly converted. The following year I bought myself some Ballerina Blue sweet pea seeds then won some more in another competition. Since then I have bought dozens of different seeds! This year I plan to have the most scented and colourful garden ever!

My Veggies are going to be so jealous of all these different colours and flowers, but hopefully it will be functional as well which is the main reason I grow them; to attract the pollinators and keep them in food!

Hi all,

I will be running an Olympic gardening session for the school in a couple of weeks time, does anyone have any interesting and inventive ideas that I can try out?

Jane

We will be Supporting Riverside Shepherd Huts this weekend, and will be on their stand all day on Sunday at the Malvern Spring Show.

Most exciting news is that they have just won a Silver for their Stand with Cat Slater from Stratford Business Forum.

Pop along and see us and get some plants at the same time, it’s a great time to plant.

pic.twitter.com/8hb8GT8J

Did some seed sowing with my local nursery school today. It was lovely, the children loved handling the compost & seeds. Really fun work- there again tom!!

Things you never knew about fruit, veg and fungi!:

Potatoes do NOT count as one of your Five-a-Day.

Mushrooms, being neither fruit nor veg but classed as Fungi, DO count as one of your five-a-day.

A fruit smoothie contains more sugar than a fizzy drink. Eating fruit is much better for you than drinking it.

http://potsmith.co.uk

Oh, My, Garden!

It is sometimes difficult to put into words the feeling you get when you have done something so nice and rewarding, that I decided to do with colours.

I had a ‘Rainbow’ feeling today when I collected my five year old son from his class, aptly named Butterfly, and he came running out to thank me for donating thirty empty jars and a packet of forty runner bean seeds so that the children could grow their own magic beanstalks.

Their theme this term is Plants and Gardens, so what better time to offer my services than now?

His teacher was overwhelmed by my generosity and I have been asked to bring some literature in so they can distribute it among the children by putting them in the their book bags, and already my son’s school friends have nicknamed me Mrs Bloom (Mr Bloom is from cBeebies) and say I am “The one that grows her food.”

Not sure if that is a good thing, or a bad thing. But if it means they are keen to grow as well, then my new name is Mrs Bloom!

http://potsmith.co.uk/

Crops are confused this month. We’ve had a mild winter, sunny March, and wet April so far.

But May is the time for catching up with sowing seeds and planting out your favourite fruit and veg.

Remember there’s still time to prepare quick growing harvest for your ‘Big Jubilee Lunch’ on the 3rd June 2012.

Also crops for shared salads and BBQs for London 2012 celebrations… Please click here to read how Warwickshire Master Gardeners are getting involved with the Games.

Seeds to sow in May

Sow these cold-hardy crops direct into your soil – or for more comfort if a little cold and wet, sow seeds in pots and trays instead. Tuck these away indoors or in a sheltered sunny corner to transplant later.

The following links open PDF growing instructions by Garden Organic:

Annual Spinach, Beetroot, Sprouting Broccoli, Pea, Radish, Rocket, Salad Onion, Pot Marigold, Parsnip, Lettuce, Carrot, Celery, Cauliflower, Kale, Kohl Rabi, (deep breath), Leaf Beet, Turnip, Swede, Spring and Summer Salad, and others…

You can also transplant energetic plants started off in March and April, moving them to their final growing space outdoors. This works well with Brussels Sprouts, Leek, Cauliflower, Calabrese, Summer Cabbage, and Sprouting Broccoli. Don’t worry if you haven’t sown these crops yet! There’s still time to sow and get large plants for transplanting in June or early July instead.

Nearly frost free…

There’s a collective horticultural rush during May. The South of England should be frost-free by the end of the month and soon after for the North and exposed sites.

So, now is the time to sow your cold-tender crops that like to be kept warm, such as Pumpkin and Squashes, Sweetcorn, Courgette and Marrow, French Bean, and Runner Bean. Start off these plants indoors on a clean, warm windowsill or in a greenhouse or polytunnel. Then plant outside after the last frost.

You can also move crops started off earlier in the year destined for a summer inside a greenhouse or polytunnel, moving your lovely Aubergine, Cucumber, Okra, Pepper, and Tomato. Although if growing these sensitive crops outdoors during summer, wait until after the last frost before transplanting.

Did you know that Garden Organic publishes a wondrous array of growing tips?

Click here to discover unusual crops (opens ‘Sowing New Seed’ project website)

Step by step growing activities…

What to do in the garden in May

Local growing blogs by volunteer Master Gardeners:
Warwickshire, North London, South London, Norfolk, and Lincolnshire

Signed up my first household today, a small garden with space for some veg. The householder is already growing some veg and wants to try more varieties and start growing fruit too.
Looking forward to working with them over the next year

The Master Gardener Course run by Garden Organic, in conjunction with

Warwickshire County Council and many other sponsors is a fantastic
event, 18 of us from round Warwickshire being given resources,
materials, seeds and compost, not forgetting the most generously sized
polo shirts ever and told to go forth and spread the grow your own
message.   Now I am a Master Gardener I can support you, yes YOU to have
a go.  You can ask me for advice and if I don’t know;  like the old AA
advert, ‘I’ll know a man who can’… to get the experts answer to your
questions.

I must admit I think ‘Master’ is a slight misnomer its more Mentor, and
thats what made me think of the Star Wars in the title.  With apologies
to all fans out there, and based on memories of not quite watching the
films when my son was ‘into Star Wars’ a couple of years ago, it seems
to me I am more an Obi-Wan then Yoda.  Size apart, as a Master Gardener
I’m here to show and enable you to practice gardening techniques; its
about ‘passing on the passion’ rather than performance gardening.

How to get the services of a Master Gardener?

It is very simple, let me know you want me, I’ll have a chat with you
and we can see if it really is for you.  The Master Gardener commitment
to you is 12 months of support when and how you need it.  You commit to
grow a  minimum of 1 pot of veg or herbs or fruit and  to contact your
Master Gardener when you need to.  You get an information pack, a free
entrance to Garden Organic at Ryton, some seeds and as much advice and
support from the Master Gardener as you need for the 12 months, and the
chance for additional support after that.  As there are lots (over 80)
Master Gardeners in Warwickshire alone, there is bound to be one near
you, wanting to support you to grow your own.  Best of all its FREE!!

Visit Helen’s blog  http://ferncumbegarden.wordpress.com

Helen Greenly

Philip and Garden Organic launched ‘Garden for the Games’ on Tuesday. Myself and a number of Master Gardeners attended this exciting event. David Moorcroft – the Olympian and a group of representatives from London 2012 and Coventry 2012 were also there. School children potted up their own troughs and sowed a variety of seeds to take back to school with them. We had a FAB lunch and it was all reported on BBC Midlands Today that evening.