May is such a lovely month for spending time in the garden, and a good time to see wildflowers in the hedgerows and fields. Everything is fresh and green and bursting with life!

This month finds the gorgeous Dicentra, or Bleeding heart, coming into flower. This is a shade-lover with elegant foliage and arching stems of heart-shaped flowers, which is a mainstay of the spring garden. The Dicentra spectabilis ‘Alba’ is my favourite with its beautiful white flowers.

Dicentra goes well with any sort of fern

Plant it in a sheltered position in dappled shade and mulch it annually with weed-free organic matter to keep it happy. The leaves die down in summer so don’t think you have killed it, but mark where it is so you don’t disturb it. It goes very well with any sort of fern.

Clematis need constant tying in as they scramble up their supports. Use soft twine and tie in a figure of eight, being careful not to damage the delicate stems. They look superb growing up through climbing roses and shrubs, extending the season of interest or flowering at the same time as their host but with contrasting colours.

Try Sambucas racemosa ‘Sutherland Gold’ with a beautiful blue Clematis ‘Perle d’Azur’ growing through it. Or a lovely Rosa ‘Gertrude Jekyll’ with Clematis ‘Etoille Violette’ scrambling up it.

If you choose late flowering clematis, the pruning is more simple as they are Group 3 and just need to be chopped off about 30cm high in early spring – very easy! Give the clematis a spring feed with a high-potassium rose-type fertiliser gently forked into the soil surface, and then water and mulch – but don’t let the mulch touch the stems as it may rot them.

Shear over early-spring flowering plants such as Brunnera, Iberis, Cerastium and Aubrieta to keep them tidy. If you don’t want your Helleborus x hybridus to set seed, now is the time to deadhead them, which will make them stronger plants for the following year.

Wear gloves when handling Euphorbia

Helleborus argutifolius needs different treatment by cutting away the stems carrying the old flowers at ground level. Apply a general fertiliser and water and mulch. Do remember that Euphorbia produces a milky sap, which can cause severe irritation so wear gloves when handling!

Traditionally, asparagus spears are harvested from 1st May onwards, although in these days of warmer temperatures you might have been cutting them for a while by now. Harvest all spears when they are 15-20cm tall – new spears will emerge shortly. Keep harvesting for about six weeks, then leave the plant alone for the summer.