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With May approaching, temperatures are expected to climb regularly above 20C and could even edge closer to 30C in the weeks ahead, creating more challenging conditions for gardeners across the UK

Against that background, renowned gardener Alan Titchmarsh has shared guidance on how Britons can prepare their gardens for the summer months.

Posting on his YouTube channel, Titchmarsh highlighted five plants he recommends for planting in May. The first was scabious 'Pink Mist'.

He said: "Scabious is a lovely summer flower, well, spring and summer, it's starting early. Pink cushion flower is its common name. Good green foliage and this is a plant for sunshine and really well drained soil."

The second plant was pulmonaria. The Love Your Weekend star noted that people once believed the shape of a plant's leaves could indicate its medicinal use.

He said: "This leaf looks like a lung apparently. I've never had a closer look at mine so they called it lungwort decided it was very good for diseases of the lung. Don't try it at home. It's a beautiful, beautiful, early spring plant."

Next on his list was the humble fern which he praised for its reliability in shaded areas. He said: "These are really useful ground coverers in quite dense shade. If you have a spot where very little will grow and it's a bit rooty and only ivy seems to do well there, do try ferns."

He added that ferns are particularly useful in dry shade conditions during the summer months.

The fourth plant was lavender, which he said "everybody" should have in their garden.

On how it behaves in summer, he said: "In summer the flowers, which are lavender or pale pink or white, but I prefer the original lavender coloured lavender....Beautiful and beloved of bees. This is another great plant to put in the veg garden where it will attract your pollinating insects."

Finally, Titchmarsh highlighted hardy geraniums as a plant he would "never ever be without".

He said: "They vary in height between ground huggers and this one 'Wargrave Pink', which will grow to about 45cm. Smothered with bright pink flowers right the way through the summer. Fabulous ground cover. Lovely leaves.

"It will spread in clumps. Plant this where you've got trouble getting anything else to grow. It's a really good doer, the hardy geranium.

"Good for soil which is inclined to dry out, though do try and water it immediately after you've planted a new one and keep it going until it's established, but also in sun or dappled shade, it will thrive in either."