May Gardening Tips
What to plant now, easy solutions for common garden problems, garden tasks + tips for seasonal planning, wherever you live
Quick Summary - This Month:
☀ Subtropical gardening tips for my local climate [Printable Download] + local ‘Successful Seedlings’ workshops in May.
👏🏼 Southern and Northern hemisphere planting tips [Printable Downloads].
🌱 Easy solutions for common gardening problems like seed starting, pest issues, soggy soil and too much shade.
⏳ Gardening at Nature’s pace to take the pressure off.
🎙 Morning in the garden meditation video.
🔍 Dig into Notes for in-depth and behind-the-scenes snippets you missed.
🧤 Resources to help you grow your garden. Dig in!
May in the Garden
Firstly, if you’re in my subtropical climate in southeast Queensland, enjoy the tips below. I share everything you need to know in my comprehensive monthly guide!
The laminated Subtropical Planting Guide is designed for this climate with our five seasons, what to plant, seasonal garden tasks and common pests at different times of the year. It’s a planning and planting tool to use year after year.
Successful Seedlings Workshops – Discover practical steps to establish seedlings, avoid common mistakes, soil-less seed raising and more. Take home a jiffy pot and seeds from the Seed Library. Free. Bookings required. Morning tea provided.
13 May, 9.30am – 12.00pm @ Cooroy Community Gardens
22 May, 9.30am – 12.00pm @ Noosaville Library
Live in a different climate zone? Discover what to plant and when in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres below. 👇🏼 I’ve got practical advice for every climate.
Northern Hemisphere Gardening Tips
Hey plant parents, if slugs or bugs are partying in your spring garden, don’t panic. Before you despair over your seedlings or feel guilty about that unweeded bed, here are a few quick tips to tuck in your tool belt to keep things (mostly) under control and growing in the right direction:
🥗 Soil not fully prepared? Sprinkle a layer of compost like you're seasoning a giant salad! Garnish with mulch. Plant seedlings into ‘pockets’ or handfuls of compost to buy you time to do a full rehab. Your soil will appreciate the snack.
🌱 Seed starting panic? If you’re hoping for sunflowers, beans, or zucchini, you can still direct sow these right now. Nature’s timeline is forgiving, but if you're in a colder region, you might still need to protect tender seedlings.
🐞 Pest problems popping up? If you spot aphids or slugs, channel your inner garden bouncer. Hand-pick, hose-blast, or invite beneficial predatory insects to crash the party by sowing more flowers.
🌿 Feeling behind? Plants don’t know what day it is! Trust the process. Your garden doesn’t need perfection — it just needs your presence. Sow little and often. Read on for more tips if you’re behind schedule … 👇🏼
Southern Hemisphere Gardening Tips
If you’re in Autumn, it’s an ideal planting time without the heat and pest problems of summer. Check out some planting ideas for what to sow this month.
🌻 Go shake the dirt off your boots and enjoy your garden, whatever it’s dishing up.
Easy Solutions for Common Gardening Problems
🌱 Trouble Seed Starting? Follow this step-by-step Seed Starting Guide for success.
🧘♀️ Feeling Overwhelmed? Cultivate these 5 tips to reduce stress and regain control.
🌳 Too Much Shade? Don’t despair! Grow 40+ shade-tolerant edibles instead.
🐞 Pest Insect Problems? Learn WHY insects attack plants and 8 protective strategies to control them naturally.
💧 Soggy Soil? Strategies to fix waterlogged pot plants and remediate soil.
Morning Meditation in My Garden
When Life Happens, the Garden Grows Anyway
If you’re feeling frustrated or running behind schedule with your planting - because life or Nature threw a curve ball - you’re not alone. I’ve been away so much lately, I haven’t had time to ‘mother’ many of my plants. They’ve been fending for themselves, including my untamed cucumber vines.
This morning, I thought I'd have to (eek!) buy a cucumber, assuming mine were well on their way to becoming compost candidates. But a voice in my head said, ‘Go check anyway.’ To my surprise and delight, I found two huge cucumbers ready for harvesting!
I’ll admit, I felt a twinge of plant-parent guilt! After a moment’s reflection, I realised: plants are pretty self-sufficient and amazingly resilient. Nature often doesn’t need us nearly as much as we think. If we build a good foundation - prepare the soil with love, encourage a bustling microbe community, and tuck everyone in with a cozy mulch blanket, they often thrive on their own.
I'm also late sowing some cool-season crops, but I’m not stressing. Seeds are patient. They’ll germinate when they’re ready. Seedlings will catch up, and the harvest will come in due time. Slow down. Breathe. Sow and wait.
So take the pressure off. Go at the pace that fits your life. If something flops - or turns into a ‘dried botanical art piece’ - you can always compost it and rename it a contribution to future harvests! Sometimes, when you least expect it, the garden will hand you a gift anyway - just to remind you who's really in charge. 😉
A gentle reminder that the garden - and life - often bloom without perfect timing.
Keep an eye on your inbox for this month’s virtual garden tour and upcoming posts. I look forward to sharing more ways to grow good health soon.
Happy planting this month, Anne
☕ If this piece helped you forage something useful, a coffee helps me keep creating.
✳ P.S. If your email provider truncates this post, click on “View entire message” or “…” at the end so you don’t miss out on the tips, resources and pics.
AI Notice: This content is not authorised for AI training, scraping, or summarisation. © Anne Gibson, All rights reserved 2025.
I've been told that squash and cucumber vines can can be arranged to climb a trellis and still bear produce. Have you seen that? Does it work well?