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MAY WEATHER

I found a lot of information about May weather, so this part of the column is more detailed than usual. Weather Spark is my main source; otherwise, I have given the names of the other sources.

Days are getting longer. By the end of May, the days have lengthened by 38 minutes. This makes approximately a 1 minute and 15 second increase, daily. The sun rises at 6:51 a.m. on May 1 and by May 31, it is rising 18 minutes earlier, at 6:33 a.m.

Temperatures are rising. Our high temperatures in May rarely rise above 94 degrees and rarely fall below 74 degrees. Our May lows rarely fall below 52 degrees and rarely rise above 72 degrees. Homefacts.com notes that Thomasville’s average May temperature is 73.85 degrees. U.S.climatedata.com lists May’s average high as 87 degrees and average low as 61 degrees.

The sky clouds over gradually throughout the month, with overcast or mostly cloudy conditions rising from 37 percent to 44 percent. The clearest day of the month is May 1. The possibility of a wet day increases from 23 percent at the first of the month to 39 percent by the end. U.S. climate data.com gives 5 as the average number of rain days, with a monthly average of 2.99 inches of precipitation.

Humidity increases in May, too, and a muggy day is usually followed by a muggy night. “Mugginess” rises from 24 percent to 66 percent from the beginning to the end of the month, according to Weather Spark.

SPECIAL MAY DATES

May has been designated Garden for Wildlife Month by the National Wildlife Federation (NWF). This event is celebrating its 45th anniversary, making it our nation’s longest-running wildlife program. The NWF has teamed up with the National Gardening Association to become a powerful force of more than seven million people who will participate in activities to help support local wildlife. Everyone is encouraged to maintain his or her yarden in a natural, sustainable way by supporting and protecting wildlife including birds, bees, butterflies and other animals, using native plants and limiting pesticides and synthetic fertilizers.

May is also National Strawberry Month. Be sure to indulge — and you can be completely guilt-free because they are good for you. Eight strawberries provide 140 percent of the recommended daily intake of Vitamin C and one cup of strawberries has only 55 calories.

May 1 was May Day, an ancient spring festival in the Northern Hemisphere, based on astronomy. It is the second of the year’s four “cross-quarter days,” — a day that falls more or less half-way between an equinox and solstice. The first was February 2, Groundhog Day. May Day is also tied to the Celtic festival of Beltane, which related to the waxing (increasing) power of the sun as the Northern Hemisphere moves closer to summer.

May 4 (today) is Bird Day, annually. Its purpose is the conservation, awareness, appreciation and enjoyment of birds. According to the U.S. Library of Congress, Bird Day is the oldest of the days set aside to recognize birds. Started by Charles Almanzo Babcock, superintendent of schools in Oil City, Pennsylvania, it was first observed in 1894. Some bird tidbits from Dick E. Bird’s Nature News: 1) A sparrow has more vertebrae than a giraffe. 2) When diving upon a prey, peregrine falcons can reach speeds up to 200 mph. In fact, in its dive, the peregrine falcon is not only the fastest bird but the fastest creature on Earth. 3) An eagle can kill a young deer and then fly off with it.

May 5-11 is National Wildflower Week, celebrated annually during the first full week of May. This is the time to rejoice in nature’s bounty of wildflowers. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas, sponsors National Wildflower Week.

May 8, annually, is Iris Day, celebrating these beautiful, late-spring bloomers. Killarney Queen Garden Club member and friend, Mary Tomlinson, won the Horticultural Excellence Award at last weekend’s Standard Flower Show for her gorgeous deep purple iris. In Japan, iris flowers are thought to ward off evil spirits and prevent illness. Japanese people are said to place iris leaves in their baths.

IN BLOOM

Early, cool-season plants, annuals and perennials, have finished blooming. In bloom this month are warm-season flowers, such as begonias, blue salvia, daylilies, impatiens, petunias, purple coneflowers and snapdragons. Cardinal flowers bloom this month and will continue through October. Flowering shrubs and trees include oakleaf hydrangea, oleander and magnolias. Confederate jasmine, that fabulously fragrant vine, is also in bloom.

TO DO

Suggestions from David Marshall:

We can still plant most shrubs, flowers and trees from containers. If we are going to start new plantings, rising temperatures are a factor that means we must pay more attention to watering. Established plantings might even require additional irrigation.

It is too late to plant many vegetables; however, some heat lovers such as eggplant, okra, southern peas, peppers and sweet potatoes can be planted now.

Fertilize annual flowers and roses every month throughout the growing season.

Fertilize vegetables.

Plant centipede grass seeds. Start sod. Watering is important. It is too late for lawn herbicide applications.

From The National Gardening Association April 27, 2019 newsletter:

Dandelions are a problem in Southern lawns all year around. The best way to control them is to pull or dig them out of the ground. It is easier to do this when the soil is wet because they can have long taproots, and we want to get the entire thing out so it does not keep returning. Weed regularly to prevent seeds from forming and then shedding in your yarden. The article said that if we want to compost them, dandelions must be baked in the sun or in a hot, moist pile for at least a day after removing them from the ground to be certain that they are no longer viable.

There are some effective natural herbicides. The best control of young broadleaf weeds comes with those that contain clove oil (eugenol). Products that contain both clove oil and acetic acid are useful on a good many weeds. If you use those products, do so on sunny days with temperatures above 70 degrees to maximize their effectiveness.

Caterpillers. These large, fat creatures can destroy the fruit and leaves of https://garden.org/plants/group/tomatoes tomato, https://garden.org/plants/group/peppers” pepper, “https://garden.org/plants/group/eggplants” eggplant and “https://garden.org/plants/group/potatoes” potato plants. To control them, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is recommended when the caterpillars are small. When they are large, do not be afraid to hand-pick and destroy them; regardless how they appear, their “horns” do not sting. Now, this is interesting and important: If you come across a caterpillar with what looks like grains of white rice attached to its body, do not remove or harm the caterpillar. The ‘grains’ are the pupae of a parasitic wasp that attacks hornworm caterpillars. Make yourself leave the parasitized caterpillar in place so the pupae it hosts will have the opportunity to become more wasps that can, in turn, help control other hornworms.

MAY QUOTE

Here is the final quote from my old list.

To conclude your garden of daily living, you must have thyme:

1. Thyme for each other

2. Thyme for family

3. Thyme for friends

Water freely with patience and cultivate with love. There is much fruit in your garden because you reap what you sow.

Pat Pankey writes this column for Thomasville Garden Club Inc. as a service to the community. Thomasville Garden Club Inc. welcomes new members. If you are interested, please contact Membership Chair Helen Huddleston at 200-7295 or any current member. The Garden Center has a library of books about gardening that are available not only to garden club members but also to the general public. To access the library or to visit the Garden Center, please contact Julia Singletary at 226-5291 (the Garden Center telephone number) or any current member. You may contact Carla Inman at (229) 403-6048 if you are interested in renting the Garden Center for an event. The Garden Center is always open to the public on the Wednesday before the first Friday of every month, September through May. Please visit our website at  http://www.thomasvillegardenclub.org and find us on Facebook.