Monty's gardening jobs for May

May is a busy month in the garden, with seeds to sow, young plants to harden off and plant out, and spring shrubs to prune – not to mention leaving enough time to enjoy the warmer, longer days. The risk of frost will be over in most areas by the end of the month, so tender and half-hardy plants such as dahlias, zinnia and cosmos can be planted outside, ready for dazzling summer displays.

In this series of clips from BBC Gardeners’ World, Monty embarks on a new project to grow a range of vegetable and salad crops in containers, to show that everyone can produce some delicious organic food no matter what their growing space. The Jewel Garden is alight with vibrant spring colour, but the tulips are showing signs of tulip fire, a fungal disease which causes brown spots on leaves and twisted, damaged growth. Monty explains how to deal with this problem and plants out cosmos now the risk of frost is over. Finally, he moves a tree fern to a spot where it can be seen and enjoyed more easily.

Dealing with tulip fire

Monty's tulips have got problems with tulip fire, so he explains how to deal with this fungal problem. Then he plants out his cosmos which will flower from the summer until the first frosts of autumn.