By Patricia JordanMay – what a magical month in our flower calendar and such a lot of myths attached to it as well. Wherever you live in the world there would be some sort of celebration on May 1. As a child, I remember dancing around the May Pole with friends and wearing flower garlands on that day, and this tradition is still carried out in some places. In Germany, where we lived for many years, trucks and buses had branches of bright new leaves tied onto the cab fronts, while in Scotland it is all to do with washing your face in the morning dew! However you celebrated, good luck to you. Beware the old Scottish saying ‘Cast ne’er a clout, till may be oot, but I don’t think we need to heed that advice here!In the UK, May is the start of the Flower Show season, with Chelsea the prime venue. The disappointing thing about Chelsea is that it is a showcase for new plants and only the peripherals are available for sale, which if you a first time visitor, you may find odd. The other flowers shows around the country, which quickly follow on, are where you can buy almost any kind of plant. In your own garden, plants flower according to the time of year, and so it is with those on display at flower shows. These shows, which bring such pleasure to so many people, are a year-round work by the exhibitors, who bring on the plants to be at their best in time for the public gaze. I raised plants for a fund-raiser in Nicosia last month, and tried to keep some back from going over and hoping that some would be in flower for the event. Germination had been poor, due in part to the cold winter and spring, as I have no tunnels in which to keep the plants, so it was a struggle to have them ready for sale and this was on a small scale compared to shows.Every plant has its season and in Cyprus this month we can enjoy roses galore! Every village garden has them tumbling over walls, or climbing over supports, with their perfumes assailing our nostrils as we pass by. However, we should all be concerned about the lack of butterflies and bees nowadays, so it is important to grow bee and butterfly-friendly plants to attract them into the garden. I know from my own garden that the numbers of butterflies have diminished in the last few years, even though I try to encourage them by growing many of the plants that they like. No butterflies or bees means no fertilisation of flowers and therefore no fruits and nuts, so try to encourage them into your garden by growing plants such as buddleia, eucalyptus, Verbena bonariensis, wallflowers, lavender, leucophyllum, thyme, Hesperis matronalis and of course Echium webbii, much loved by Red Admiral butterflies. WHAT TO DO IN THE GARDEN THIS MONTHBefore you sit back and relax for the summer, you must feed the fruit and nut trees, as you won’t be doing it again until December. You will probably have to water in the 20.10.10 fertiliser this time round, scattering 900g (3 mugfuls) around the base of mature trees and 300g around young trees. Then you will only have to watch out for Asian Citrus leaf Miners, which burrow inside the leaves, Mediterranean Fruit Flies and other pesky insects that would spoil your fruits, if you let them. New leaf growth on roses is sometimes attractive to green flies, so it is all go on the insect front. You may find orange blotches on the reverse of the leaves of Damascena roses and hollyhocks. This is known as rust, and both plants are prone to it. Grow hollyhocks from seed every year if yours suffer regularly. Cut off the offending leaves, but don’t put them on your compost heap.Those who grow hibiscus (are there any of you left I wonder), will have to start a daily watch for mealy bugs, which are attracted to verbenas as well. Sun-loving hibiscus will thrive at least up to 300 metres elevation, although fresh new growth is sometimes zapped by low night temperatures in early spring. Closer to the coast, they should remain in full leaf year round. Hibiscus leaves turn yellow because they have come to the end of their natural life, so don’t worry about that. Hibiscus Rosa sinensis, has wonderful red flowers but many more hybrids in different colourations are now available. However, the hybrids are not as hardy as the ones with red flowers, so care should be taken when choosing where to plant them. Some late summer gardens are graced by Hibiscus mutabilis, (the Changeable Rose), as the flowers change from white through pink to red all in one day, but they will only grow near the coast, as they need humidityDon’t sow any more seeds or take any cuttings now until the autumn. You may be lucky with germination, but temperatures are rising rapidly, which will be too much for the little plantlets to cope with. Crop your lettuces before they bolt with the heat and keep watering your tomatoes through a plant pot in the ground next to the plant. This way the water will feed the roots just where the plant needs it most. Now that any danger of cold night temperatures has passed, you can plant sweet corn plugs. Sweet corn is so delicious straight from the garden that you won’t be able to resist.You may have noticed that potted plants are appearing for sale in supermarkets and places where you wouldn’t expect to see them. A word of warning though – plants need constant attention and garden centre owners know this, and take special care with them. In other places, they can be subject to draughts and changes of temperatures and need daily watering! Plant of the Month Carya PecanAlthough the Pecan tree is a native of North America where it grows in flood plains and river valleys, flourishing in the deep fertile soil, it grows remarkably well in Cyprus too. This should not surprise you as it is intolerant of shade and we have plenty of sunshine here! It is a member of the Juglandaceae family and a relative of walnuts, and if you look closely at the configuration of the fruit inside the nut case, you will see the family likeness. Crows love the nuts and know when the outer cases start to open, as they fly early morning sorties over the trees, picking the biggest nuts. If you can beat the crows to the harvest, remove the outer shells, leaving the inner nutshell to dry for a couple of months, as at this stage, the nut is too soft to be enjoyable. Wear gloves for this job, or your hands will become stained.Pecan has been adopted as the ‘State Tree’ of Texas and the ‘State Nut’ of Alabama and in the US, April is designated ‘National Pecan Month’. Many a household in Cyprus has bowlfuls of pecan nuts at Christmas time. They are an enjoyable nut to eat, as well as aiding in lowering cholesterol. If you are tempted to grow a tree in your garden, do think twice, as they can reach great heights – 20-30 metres. It is possible to curtail their growth to a manageable level for a garden or small orchard, by pruning them after leaf drop into an umbrella shape of about two and half metres. This will encourage the branches to grow sideways, so you will need to leave some space between them and any other trees.The new, frond-like foliage appears towards the end of April and is very attractive, especially when the long male tassels blow in the spring breezes. However, note that the high tannic acid content of the leaves inhibits growth beneath the trees. When the female flowers appear on the tree, they are wind pollinated. The pollen can travel as far as 400 metres and some people are extremely allergic to it. So, if you are asthmatic or have pollen allergies, this is probably not the tree for you.Feed the tree with 20.10.10 fertiliser in January, May and again in December. Sometimes Zinc shortages (brown spots) appear on the reverse of the leaves during the year. If your tree is prone to this disease, mix 2 dessertspoons of zinc chelate in 10 litres of water into the ground at the beginning of the year, and then in May and July, spray the leaves with a lesser dosage (1 level dessertspoon of zinc chelate in 5 litres of water) until the solution runs off the tree. Despite having to deal with this problem, it is a great shade tree and produces a wonderfully hard wood much used in furniture and flooring. Barbecuing over a fire of pecan wood gives great flavour to the meat!You May LikeFigLeaf Beta AppGet Maximum Privacy with Minimum EffortFigLeaf Beta AppUndoTruthFinder People Search SubscriptionOne Thing All Liars Have in Common, Brace YourselfTruthFinder People Search SubscriptionUndoClassmates.comLook For Any High School Yearbook, It’s FreeClassmates.comUndo Concern over falling tourism numbersUndoTurkish Cypriot actions in Varosha ‘a clear violation’ of UN resolutions, Nicosia saysUndoTwo arrested in connection with attempted murderUndoby Taboolaby Taboola
read more