Sacramento Digs Gardening: May Day all about spring flowers

A sheaf of yellow roses makes a beautiful decoration for May Day. This is The Poet's Wife, a David Austin rose. (Photo:

Kathy Morrison)

Ancient tradition celebrates halfway point to summer

May Day was made for merriment.

Maypoles, May baskets and “bringing in the May” -- all are part of flower-filled May Day traditions that date back to the ancient Celtics.

With our gardens coming into full bloom, this first day in May may be as good a time as any to explore some real old-fashioned garden fun.

May Day represents the midpoint of spring, halfway between the vernal equinox and the first day of summer. For hundreds of years, this holiday has been celebrated in the British Isles as an important point on the agricultural calendar.

This is a garden lover’s kind of holiday: Everything gets decorated with flowers (especially yellow or wildflowers). Houses are adorned with floral wreaths; so are livestock and pets. People wear garlands on their heads and around their necks.

All that decorating takes many May blooms. That’s the origin of the phrase, “bringing in the May”; it means picking a lot of flowers – often by the armload.

May baskets are little gifts left (anonymously) on doorsteps. The basket – often just a colored paper cone or decorated pasteboard box – contains a small bouquet of flowers and something sweet to eat (such as cookies or candy). The giver leaves the treats, rings the doorbell, shouts “May basket!” and runs. If the recipient catches the giver in the act, they get a kiss. (Maybe not this particular May Day, but that’s the tradition.)

In the U.S., maypoles may be the best known May Day tradition. According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, the ancient Celtics danced around a living tree strung with ribbons while praying for good crops.

By the Middle Ages, the maypole had become a wooden pole – usually in the center of the village. The taller the pole, the more dancers could wrap ribbons around it. (That’s another tradition that’s probably being skipped this May Day.)

Instead of dancing with ribbons, bring in the May from your garden and celebrate a beautiful spring.

GENERAL GARDENING

An article about gardening.

Keywords:

gardening Sacramento floral traditions May Day roses gardening history blooms bouquets yellow flowers

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Flowers in My Back Yard Series

April 28: Majestic Matilija poppy is worth a look

April 21: Celebrate roses, America's favorite flower

April 14: Small flowers with outsized impact

April 7: Calendulas do double duty

April 3: Make Easter lilies last for years to come

March 31: In praise of a pollinator magnet (small-leaf salvias)

March 24: Azaleas brighten shady spots

March 17: The perfect flower for beginners? Try zonal geraniums

March 10: Keep camellias happy for years to come

March 3: Fruit tree blossoms are a fleeting joy

Feb. 27: Are your roses looking rusty?

Feb. 24: Treasure spring daffodils now and for years to come

Feb. 17: How and why to grow wildflowers

Feb. 10: Let's talk Valentine's Day roses

Feb. 3: Why grow flowers?

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Garden checklist for week of April 19

After this midweek storm, start getting serious about spring gardening. Flowers are blooming about three weeks ahead of schedule. That includes weeds!

* Get ready to swing into action in the vegetable garden – if you haven’t already. As nights warm up over 50 degrees, set out tomato, pepper and eggplant transplants.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, radishes and squash; wait on pumpkins until May. Plant onion sets.

* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias. Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.

* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom. Late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Transplant lettuce and cabbage seedlings.

* April is the last chance to plant citrus trees such as dwarf orange, lemon and kumquat. These trees also look good in landscaping and provide fresh fruit in winter.

* Smell orange blossoms? Give citrus trees a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants. If leaves look yellow, your tree may need an iron boost -- apply some chelated iron fertilizer.

* Apply slow-release fertilizer to the lawn.

* Thoroughly clean debris from the bottom of outdoor ponds or fountains.

* Spring brings a flush of rapid growth, and that means your garden needs nutrition. Give shrubs and trees a slow-release fertilizer. Mulch with a 1-inch layer of compost, which helps the soil, but keep it a few inches away from trunks and stems.

* Azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? If leaves are turning yellow between the veins, give them a boost with chelated iron.

* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.

* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.

* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.

Send us a gardening question, a post suggestion or information about an upcoming event. sacdigsgardening@gmail.com

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