How to Make your Utah Garden Grow this May

• Posted on May 29, 2019

Utah is one of the driest states in the country, which means it can be difficult to grow a lot of plants. But there are some plants that love the Utah climate and there are a few things you can do to improve your backyard and create a beautiful garden that’s ready for the summer. Plus, you can even use your garden to source some pretty home decorations.

Kitchen Garden

Now that May has arrived, the last frost should have passed or be pretty close to passing. This means it can be a good time to plant annual flowering plants, as well as summer vegetables. A kitchen garden can be a great way to grow your own produce and herbs, giving you more certainty of where your food has come from and can be a fun and potentially less expensive way of eating organically.

When you’re planting tomatoes, it can be a good idea to plant them a little deeper in the soil, as this can give them more of a chance to develop sturdier roots. Sweet corn can be an ideal crop to grow, and kids will love getting involved in the harvest. Depending on how much room you have in your garden and how big you want your sweet corn crop to be, you can plant your sweetcorn each week, meaning your harvest will continue for longer. But don’t plant it any later than July.

Herbs

Herbs can be essential for cooking and they can make your garden look pretty special too. Mediterranean herbs should do well in Utah, particularly over the summer. Thyme, sage and lavender can be ideal for a small garden. Be careful with lavender though, as this plant can grow rather rapidly but it can add a lovely touch to your home decor. Mint can also spread quickly and could be more suitable in a planter. Oregano and tarragon can also be ideal for a Utah garden and should be hardy enough to survive the cold winters.

Other herbs, such as basil will require a little more water. Basil, in particular, does not like cold environments so it can be better to wait until after the last frost if you plan to plant this fragrant herb.

Flowers

May can be a great month for planting bulbs for summer flowering plants. Begonias and dahlias can do well in Utah, as well as gladioli. If you already have flowers still left over from spring, such as tulips and daffodils, let them die before you remove the foliage.

You can also plant perennial flowering plants, which means they’ll blossom year after year without you needing to replant them. Just make sure you keep them watered and fertilized and you should be good to go. The John Cabot rose can be a popular rose choice in Utah because of its ability to flower from June to October, even in northern Utah. However, roses may require some regular deadheading to keep them in tip top condition.

The September charm windflower can also be a good flowering plant, with beautiful pink flowers appearing at the end of summer and giving your garden color well into fall.