Hi!
Any more info on your garden - what direction does it face, how much shade etc?

To be honest, there is not a lot of time between now and May in gardening terms...........

Your best bet is to talk to your neighbours, ask what they suggest and if they can help you...

Unless you buy plants the day before from a garden centre, you are not guaranteed flowers. What I would do is plants lots of bulbs, Alliums and Tulips (they should be sold cheaply now) come to mind and they should be coming into flower in early May if planted now. If you take 40-50 days from seed to flower as a general rule (Marigolds,Lobelia, Rudbeckia etc) then if you start sowing seeds indoors in late March, early April then you should have colour in early May.

Agree with kildermorie ... Early bulbs are great! Producing early flowering perrenials from seed to flower in May, usually starts in the autumn, which is probably not helpful to you. I am thinking of the varieties of wallflowers (colour and scent) that can flower March through to November. If you have a good garden centre, they may have some erysimum (wall flower) propogated last autumn that will flower early spring for you. In addition to recommendations ... pansies and primulas may also still be available, also some of the spring flowering heathers. Mix in with colourful heuchera and phormiums. Otherwise choose instant colour as kildermorie says, and keep them covered with a horticultural fleece over night/day in case of frosts and cold winds.

I,d grow lots of bedding plants from early plug plants,marigolds etc,put them in pots and keep in the gh then put them out on the big weekend...earlier only if the weather is like last year I did it for a garden party we hosted,the long troughs are good too, it gives you the flexibility to put them just where the,re needed

Most years in early May, its still late spring flowers, like Forget me Nots (Myosotis), Primulas, Tulips, Allium aflatuense, Alyssum saxatile, possibly Iberis sempervirens, Bellis perennis, Aubretia and Arabis. All of these are hardy, and Myosotis, Primula (or Primrose, Polyanthus, whichever), Bellis, Aubretia and Arabis may well be available at the garden centre now, or in late February or early March, as box bedding, which makes it cheaper.

Thank you everyone you have given me plenty to think about