Gardening expert Monty Don has listed the five things gardeners should do as we approach May to maximise the chances of helping our garden blossom this summer. The popular figure believes that May is a crucial month for gardening success as it bridges spring and summer and heralds increased periods of sunlight and temperatures. Alongside important jobs to be done in May, Monty Don discussed why he believes May is the "most beautiful month".

He wrote on his website: "The truth is that there is an almost irrepressible urge to grow, and the growing light - which is so noticeable at this time of year, whatever the weather - is just as important as the temperature. In Britain May is often the most beautiful month because not only does the whole natural world burgeon and blossom but there is a thrilling sense of hope and expansion like a slow and beautiful explosion of life. In practical terms the soil is warming up and so anything planted in May will grow quickly and well.

"However in colder areas care should be taken to protect tender plants from late frosts. These rarely kill plants but they can and do nip off tender new growth and hold up future flowering."

Below are Monty Don's five tips for May gardening success.

By mid-May, tender annuals such as sunflowers, zinnias, cosmos and tobacco plants can be planted out in all but the coldest gardens, he suggests, provided they have been hardened off for at least a week.

This step is important. Plants bought from garden centres are often kept sheltered for display, so place them somewhere protected for a week before planting them outside.

Tender annuals work well in containers and borders. In borders, plant them in groups or drifts rather than straight lines, so they blend into the wider planting scheme.

Monty advises that you space them 12 to 18 inches apart in a sunny, sheltered spot and water them in well. As long as temperatures stay above 5C, they should grow strongly and flower into autumn.

Citrus plants overwintered in a greenhouse can be moved outside in early May, with fleece kept nearby in case temperatures drop.

This is also a good time to prune them, removing damaged, straggly or untidy branches. Oranges and lemons respond well to hard pruning, so removing a few older stems each year will encourage fresh growth.

The Chelsea Chop is carried out around the time of the Chelsea Flower Show in May to extend the flowering season of late-flowering perennials such as heleniums, sedums, lysimachia and golden rod.

Monty recommends cutting one clump back by about half, or, if there is only one large clump, cutting back a third of it. The pruned section will produce side shoots and extra flowers, blooming later than the uncut stems and prolonging the display into autumn.

Unlike most bulbs, allium foliage can be cut back as soon as flowering has finished. This frees up space in borders for tender annuals such as cosmos, zinnias, tithonia and sunflowers.

Unlike herbaceous perennials, grasses are best divided once they are growing strongly. Lift the clump and split it into sizeable sections, as grasses are slow to establish and should not be cut too small.

Replant at the same depth, water well, and continue watering weekly until growth is strong. Self-seeded grasses that become crowded can be lifted as young plants and moved to give them more space.