Diarmuid Gavin: Declutter, decorate and plant up your garden this bank holiday for a summer-ready plot

Irish Independent

30-04-2025

From power-washing to outdoor lighting to the main event, planting, it's time to get your garden looking gorgeous for the warmer months
The May bank holiday weekend is the ideal time to give your garden a seasonal refresh and get it looking its best for the summer months. With recent bursts of warm sunshine followed by heavy rain, many gardens are already lush and full of life. If you haven't planted yet, don't worry — it's still a great time to get started.
But first the basics… if you've been ignoring your garden, you may need to start with a tidy-up. Decluttering is in vogue — if an object is no longer useful or your tastes have changed, consider either upcycling or discarding it. This could be a broken pot, a shrub that you hate or some tired old garden furniture. Will a lick of paint transform that old bench, perk up a fence or reinvent the garden shed?
Consider the magic of outdoor lighting. A simple string of fairy lights can bring some twinkly magic to the patio. Nothing beats a swag of festoon lighting when it comes to outdoor scene-setting. They're ideal for adding a cosy atmosphere or a charming and festive accent, or just illuminating that casual balcony or rooftop barbecue under the stars.
Power-washing will lift layers of dirt off paving, paths and outdoor furniture. It's a messy but very satisfying job. Wear wellies as you will get wet. Get all hands on deck to mow the lawn, weed the borders, and now you're ready for the fun bit — planting!
If your goal is a garden bursting with colour all summer long, focus on perennials with extended blooming periods — from May right through to October. Geums are an excellent choice: they're incredibly easy to grow and come in cheerful shades of red, orange and yellow. Salvias are another standout, especially hardy varieties like 'Caradonna' with their rich-purple flower spikes. Other long-flowering, low-maintenance stars include hardy geraniums, penstemon, astilbe, nepeta, astrantia and campanulas.
Shrubs also bring structure and interest. Lavender thrives in sunny spots, offering scented, hazy purple blooms, while hydrangeas are ideal for shadier corners, providing lush, dramatic flowers throughout summer.
For instant impact, consider bedding plants to fill pots and hanging baskets. Nemesia is a top pick with its lovely fragrance and soft pastel tones, alongside vibrant yellow and white varieties. Pelargoniums are another favourite — tough, floriferous and full of holiday nostalgia. For dramatic cascades of colour, petunias and calibrachoa are perfect basket fillers.
Some of the best garden moments come in late summer, often in September. Even if the weather doesn't deliver an Indian summer, your garden still can. The daisy family shines in this season — look for golden rudbeckias, coreopsis, bold echinaceas, sunflowers, and the lavender blooms of Aster x frikartii 'Monch'. Other reliable late bloomers include Helenium 'Moerheim Beauty', Shasta daisies, cosmos, Japanese anemones, crocosmia, sedum and eupatorium, all of which will keep your garden vibrant right into autumn.
As many of us enjoy our gardens in the evenings — whether it's a quiet drink after work or a lively family barbecue — fragrant, night-scented plants are a wonderful addition. Create a scented path to your gathering space with plants like star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides), which releases its heady perfume on warm evenings while providing evergreen cover.
Nicotiana, with its dramatic blooms and strong evening scent, is perfect for borders or pots near seating areas. A pot of night-scented stock on your bedroom windowsill will bring a gentle fragrance indoors. For containers, consider lilies, dianthus and wallflowers, while phlox brings fragrance and colour to borders.
Don't forget the aromatic members of the mint family — many of which can be identified by their square stems. These include lavender, rosemary, thyme, perovskia, nepeta and, of course, mint itself.
Finally, think about creating shelter for both sun and showers. A simple garden umbrella can provide shade over a dining table, but a pergola can do even more. Beautiful in its own right, a pergola can support climbers like roses, honeysuckle, wisteria or clematis, and also provide a shady retreat to enjoy a coffee and a good book — even when it's raining.
Plant of the week
Kolkwitzia amabilis 'Pink Cloud'
The 'Beauty Bush' lives up to its name in late spring and early summer as it is a cloud of pretty flowers. It's a medium-sized deciduous shrub with arching stems and these are laden with blossoms. The flowers come in clusters and are vivid pink with yellow markings inside. Best grown in well-drained soil in full sun or partial shade, it can be vigorous so prune if required after flowering in midsummer.
Reader tip
'I recall reading one of your Irish Independent magazine pieces some while ago. You mentioned pruning and you reminded people of the 3 Ds as guidance for pruning. You might like to know that I've always regarded it as 5 Ds. Diseased, damaged, dead of course, but also diagonal (ie crossing, or growing inwards) and duplicate (ie close parallel) stems.' Best wishes, David Hawcroft
Submit your gardening questions to Diarmuid via his Instagram @diarmuidgavin using the hashtag #weekendgarden