Words by Vikki Rimmer

May is bringing more than just three bank holidays this month, it’s also producing a bumper bonanza of bloom as the county erupts in flowers.

From patriotic plants to spectacular spring borders, May is the perfect time for green-fingered visitors to explore everything the Garden of England has to offer.

With the recent coronation celebrations, lots of gardeners have been getting into the spirit with floral displays in red, white and blue.

Neil Miller, head gardener at Hever Castle and Gardens, suggests a combination of Pelargonium Mylena Red, blue Ageratum Aloha and white Begonia semperflorens for those keen to keep the red, white and blue theme going all summer long.

A tapestry of colour in springtime, Hever Castle, near Edenbridge, is moving from its Tulip Celebrations in April towards a ‘marvellous May’.

Neil said: “The blossom has been incredible this spring and there are still daffodils and tulips in bloom, but the rhododendrons and azaleas are tremendous in the garden this month, with the big pink varieties catching the attention of visitors.”

The wisteria is also out this month at Hever on Pergola Walk and along the Pompeian Wall.

“If you are a wisteria-grower, you’ll know that no two years are the same,” adds Neil. “You can wait several seasons before you see substantial blooms. If you have a wisteria in the garden and want to have a good display next year, then make sure you cut back the wispy bits of the plant in July.”

Over in Sevenoaks, the azaleas and rhododendrons are in full bloom at Great Comp Garden.

The seven-acre idyll in St Mary’s Platt, created by Roderick and Joy Cameron in the later half of the 20th century, is considered one of the best examples of spring colour in the county.

The woodland area at Great Comp provides hidden delights for azalea fans, with a quirky temple folly surrounded by reds, orange, yellow and blue azaleas.

Dover’s Goodnestone Park, a favourite haunt of Jane Austen in the 18th century, is beautiful in May with pathways that weave in random directions, planted with azaleas, Pieris and rhododendron - all enjoying the greensand geology that runs beneath their roots.

It’s not just the gardens that are experiencing a blooming month; the nurseries in Kent are full of floral delights too.

The county is chock-full of specialist nurseries like Swallowfields in Ashford, which is run by Rachael Castle.

Rachael is a first-time exhibitor at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show this year as part of the Plant Fairs Roadshow.

She will join fellow nurseries such as the No Name Nursery in Sandwich, Pineview Plants in Wrotham and Plantbase in Wadhurst.

The teams behind these nurseries will all have their fingers crossed that temperatures continue to warm this month so that their plants are at peak condition when the gates open to the most famous flower show in the world on Tuesday, May 23.

Colin Moat at Pineview Plants is pleased that his stock of shade-loving plants is coming on well and he’s hoping that May will be marvellous for his friends as they exhibit together in the world-famous floral marquee.

“We are really delighted to have been allocated a place at the Chelsea Flower Show as the first-ever co-operative of nurseries,” says Colin.”Eight of our nurseries, who hail from Kent, Sussex and Hertfordshire, will work together to showcase a diverse range from house plants, to maples, shade-loving and sun-loving to perennials and bulbs too; all in one area!”

Colin loves to grow epimediums - these delicate shade-loving plants, with their heart-shaped leaves, display tiny star-shaped flowers come the spring.

Exhibiting alongside Colin and the team at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show will be jungle and desert specialist Graham Blunt.

Earlier this month a UK-first occurred at his Plantbase nursery when the rare Isopogon plant, one of the only specimens of its kind in the country, erupted in seed heads for the first time ever.

Graham said: “I’ve had the mature specimen for a number of years and while it flowers it has never had its seed pods open before - so this is a UK first!

“The weather that’s gone from being really quite cold one moment to hot then next has caused the seed pods to open - extraordinary horticultural stuff for Kent!”