Gardeners tend to remember the weather from the previous year, for example I remember how the April showers didn't arrive and how warm the weather was and that friends planted out their tomatoes too early, thinking it was warm enough, well the days were but the nights were still cold. This year however, the exact opposite has happened and the April showers turned into torrential torrents of water!

On Good Friday we had lovely weather and I was getting all excited with the anticipation of spending what free time I had in the garden - unfortunately this hadn't quite transpired but despite the rain, I have still been rather busy.

My lovely fiance erected a long trellis which separates the top of the garden from the rest, which has enabled me to plant two rather lovely scented climbing roses, a climbing hydrangea, a summer flowering jasmine and two plants which won't really come into their own until next year, an akebia and a gorgeous little clematis called Pixie. The common factor, apart from the hydrangea, is that these plants are scented and are situated right next to my summer house so we can enjoy the scent in the evenings. (I am growing the climbing hydrangea for it's flowers and that fact that it can cope with the more shadier condition in the corner of the bed).

The bed in front of the trellis is long and wide and I will fill it with my dahlias and the seedlings I am growing at the moment, which desperately need potting on.

I am also very excited about some chrysanthemums I have bought from Sarah Raven's website. These plants have had a bad press in the past. You see them in cheap supermarket and in petrol station forecourt bouquets up and down the country but they are such good doers and can flower for weeks in a vase and are so gorgeous, if you pick the right varieties. Aside from all of this, my reason for growing these is that they should be in flower for my wedding in September. One variety I have ordered is called Anastasia Green which is my daughters name (not the green part). It has an enormous head and a wonderful acid green colour (both of these traits my daughter doesn't share!) The tulips I planted in February instead of November are starting to flower and will give an absolutely gorgeous show in the next week or two. It proves that sometimes you can ignore the rule books.

My onion sets are starting to poke their little stalks out of the soil and with a bank holiday on the horizon, weather permitting, I shall be sowing lots more seeds this weekend. I have mangetout, carrots as well as some salad leaves and peas to get going.

I think of May as a transitional month in the garden. The days are warming up but the nights can still be a bit chilly to plant out tender plants. You can see the amount of growth the perennials are putting on in the garden, as well as the weeds so it's a really busy time, if only the rain will hold up long enough for me to get out there.

Let's hope for better weather next month, especially on the 11th as I have a wedding to photograph!

Readers who submit articles must agree to our terms of use. The content is the sole responsibility of the contributor and is unmoderated. But we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention. If you wish to complain about this article, contact us here

Readers who submit articles must agree to our terms of use. The content is the sole responsibility of the contributor and is unmoderated. But we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention. If you wish to complain about this article, contact us here