GINA PARKINSON finds that May is spreading all around in the late spring garden.

BEDS and borders in the garden begin to fill in May with the fresh new foliage of herbaceous perennials and the early flowers of tulips, dicentra, aquilegia.

Walls and fences are clothed with sheaves of the pink and white blooms of clematis Montana.

I have three of these plants in our back garden, unnamed unfortunately because they came unlabelled from a mail order firm.

A pink variety is trained against a west-facing wall and mingles with Jasmine, summer flowering clematis Star of India and Photinia davidiana Palette that has been grown as a wall shrub.

At this time of year it is the partnership of the montana and Photinia that is of interest with the new pink, cream and orange splashed leaves of the shrub picking up the hue of the clematis blooms.

The new red shoots of Rosa Brother Cadfael and coppery tones of Geum rivale Leonard's variety in the bed below add a darker note as do the deep leaves of heuchera Palace Purple and Anthriscus sylvestris Ravenwing.

This latter plant is a biennial species from the cow parsley family that gives an airy height to the garden in mid to late spring. It will self-seed, although I always collect and sow seed in summer to be sure there will be plants for next year.

Thin, branched flower stems rise above the dark brown foliage and carry sprays of tiny white flowers.

I grow mine with lime green euphorbia and Bowles golden grass and by the low mound of soft leaves formed by the new growth of Anthemis tinctoria E.C.Buxton.

Going back to Clematis montana, a second variety in the garden is a white-flowered specimen that has found its way into a holly tree.

This is an ideal support for the climber and the dark green leaves of the holly make a perfect backdrop for the blooms of the clematis.

We have a good view of the tree from the house and can enjoy the pair even on a cold, damp spring day.

The third, and my favourite of these clematis, is a rich pink and dark-leafed variety that is being trained against the house wall. It is less vigorous than the others and was set back last year when it had to be moved but has recovered well and this spring is once again flowering.

The warm tones of the flowers look good against the old bricks of the house and there is plenty of room for it to grow along the top of the window of the single storey extension and up on to the wall of the main house.

Weekend job

Start hardening off seedlings grown indoors or under glass and tender bedding. Leave them outside for a few hours during the day slowly extending the period over the next two or three weeks.

Continue to protect them at night until the danger of frost is over and night time temperatures begin to rise.

Containers can be assembled now and the plants hardened off as described above - remember that large pots will be heavy to move around, so make sure they are kept near to the house or greenhouse for the moment. They can be put into their permanent position in June.

Book winners

Congratulations to the following four people who have each won a copy of Hamlyns' new book How To Garden.

The winners are Mrs C. Crawford, Danum Road, Fulford; J. Beach, Elmpark Vale, York; R. McMonies, Old Dike Lands, Haxby and V. Nicholls, Hempland Lane, York.

Your books are waiting for you to collect at reception at the Evening Press Offices, 76-86 Walmgate, York.

Updated: 09:19 Saturday, May 15, 2004