Moon Phases May 2026 in Cairns, Queensland

This month's full moon: the Flower Moon

May is when flowers are abundant across much of the northern hemisphere, and the full moon carries their name.

The Corn Planting Moon and Milk Moon are other traditional names. In Buddhist countries the May full moon is Vesak, marking the birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha.

Lore

May's abundance of blossom gave the moon its name, and in Buddhist countries this is the moon of Vesak, celebrating the birth, enlightenment and passing of the Buddha. European lore called it the Milk Moon, when cows first went out to fresh pasture and milk flowed freely.

Trivia

• The Flower Moon is the first full moon of meteorological summer in the northern hemisphere.
• In 2026 it falls on May 1, leaving room for a second full moon, a Blue Moon, on May 31.
• Vesak is fixed to this full moon, so its date moves each year like Easter.

All Flower Moon dates ›

This month's full moon: the Blue Moon

A second full moon in one calendar month. It happens about every two and a half years and has nothing to do with color.

The monthly definition became popular after a 1946 Sky and Telescope article misread the Maine Farmers' Almanac, which used an older seasonal rule: the third full moon in a season that has four. Both definitions are in use today. The phrase "once in a blue moon" predates both and simply means rarely.

Lore

The phrase once in a blue moon is older than any astronomical definition and originally meant something absurd or never. The modern rule, a second full moon in one calendar month, spread from a 1946 magazine article and a 1980s radio programme. Genuinely blue-looking moons have been seen after huge volcanic eruptions and forest fires, when smoke particles scatter red light.

Trivia

• Monthly Blue Moons happen about every 2.7 years.
• The older seasonal rule calls the third full moon of a season with four the Blue Moon.
• After Krakatoa erupted in 1883 the Moon appeared blue or green for nearly two years.

All Blue Moon dates ›

Gardening by the Moon in May 2026

• May 1 · Fruiting crops: Sow above-ground crops whose seeds form inside the fruit: beans, peas, tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers, melons. Graft, repot and sow lawns.
• May 2 to May 9 · Root crops: Plant root crops and anything that overwinters: carrots, beets, potatoes, onions, garlic, bulbs, perennials, trees and shrubs. Prune to slow growth.
• May 10 to May 16 · Rest and tend: Rest days for the soil: weed, cultivate, turn compost, harvest crops for storage, prune to discourage regrowth, prepare beds. Avoid sowing.
• May 17 to May 22 · Leafy crops: Sow leafy crops and above-ground annuals whose seeds form outside the fruit: lettuce, spinach, cabbage, broccoli, celery, herbs. Transplant seedlings. Mow to encourage growth.
• May 23 to May 30 · Fruiting crops: Sow above-ground crops whose seeds form inside the fruit: beans, peas, tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers, melons. Graft, repot and sow lawns.
• May 31 · Root crops: Plant root crops and anything that overwinters: carrots, beets, potatoes, onions, garlic, bulbs, perennials, trees and shrubs. Prune to slow growth.

Full planting calendar for May › · How gardening by the moon works

How to read this moon calendar

Each day shows the Moon as it looks from Cairns at midday local time, with the illuminated percentage, moonrise and moonset. Days with a principal phase show the exact local time the phase occurs. Because the Moon moves about 50 minutes later each day, roughly once a month there is a date with no moonrise or no moonset at all.

From the southern hemisphere the Moon appears flipped: a waxing moon is lit on the left. The icons on this page follow that view.

The eight phases of the Moon