Gardening Calendar - Resources

Gardening Calendar - January

January is generally a cold month and often the garden can look a little empty. It's the best time in the gardening year to sit back, take stock and make plans for the forthcoming gardening year.

Take advantage of dry days to do a little essential garden maintenance and clear away any debris in the borders from the previous season.

If you are lucky enough to have a greenhouse there is plenty of sowing you can be doing to get a head start.

Fruit & Vegetables

Prune Apples, Pears, Currants and Gooseberries
Force early rhubarb and chicory
Chit early potatoes
Plan your veg garden with the Garden Doctor’s Vegetable Planner
Cover beds with cloches or polythene to warm the soil ready for early sowing
Sow early veg under cover: for example, Leek Edison, Onion Unwins Exhibition, Strawberry Temptation, Tomato Moneymaker, Broad Bean Aquadulce Claudi

Jobs around the garden

Take root cuttings from perennials including oriental poppies, pulsatilla and echinops.
Keep a check on newly planted roses and shrubs
Put out food and water for wild birds
Check newly planted shrubs.
Aeriate lawn taking care not to stand on waterlogged areas.
Keep plants in containers protected from frost and check weekly to see whether they need watering.
Feed established trees in late January with Growmore Garden Fertiliser

Plants to Enjoy This Month

Witch Hazel A stunning addition to the garden with citrus scented, spidery flowers carried on bare, leafless branches.
Dog Wood With some of the most beautiful coloured stems, these shrubs are perfect for the small garden.
Gaultheria Perfect for winter containers or ground cover, dark green leaves and pinky/red shimmery berries.

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Gardening Calendar - February

February can be a mild month and bring an early spring, or it may remain very cold slowing the appearance of early spring bulbs. Your garden activities will be very much dictated by the temperature.

As the soil starts to warm outside weed seeds will start to germinate, this is nature's signal to gardeners that spring is starting, the soil is warm enough to start growing seeds outside and it's time to go gardening.

Even so, the odd cold snap can still have us reaching for the fleece to protect early sowings. Always make sure you have a contingency plan, never sow the whole packet of seed in one sowing just in case the weather takes a downturn and you have a crop failure. With more seeds in the packet you've always got a second or third chance for success.

Fruit & Vegetables

Prune autumn-fruiting raspberries and feed with Westland Sulphate of Potash Fruit & Flower food
Give established blackcurrants their annual prune, aim to prune out a quarter of the old stems
Finish planting any bare root fruit canes, bushes and trees
Place forcing jars over clumps of rhubarb
Keep an eye out for weeds in the veg garden
Buy and chit early varieties of seed potatoes
Plant out onion sets
Sow veg seeds such as broccoli, early carrots, cut and come again lettuce, parsnips
Sow peppers, aubergines, chillies and tomatoes indoors to give you the earliest plants for growing in the greenhouse
Sow broad beans individually in 3in pots and leave to germinate on the windowsill
Don’t forget crop rotation. Prevent the build up of pests and diseases in the soil by rotating your crops around the veg patch

Jobs Around the Garden

Prune trees and many summer flowering clematis
Cut back overgrown shrubs and feed with slow-release fertiliser such as Westland Bonemeal Root Builder
Sow annual flower seeds under cover, for example Alyssum, Busy Lizzies, Cosmos, Petunias and Sunflowers
Propagate new plants from hardwood cuttings; Buddleia, Dogwood, Spiraea and Honeysuckle
Top dress containers by replacing top inch with new compost such as Westland Container & Basket Compost
Plant summer flowering bulbs
Divide and plant snowdrops
Repot root bound and exhausted houseplants using Westland Indoor Plant Compost
Mulch beds and borders, try using Westland Bed & Border Chipped Bark
Improve your soil by digging in some Westland Top Soil or Westland organic Farmyard Manure
Put up some bird boxes to encourage wild birds
Clean paths, decking and patios, try using Hero Paving & Decking Power Cleaner

Plants to Enjoy This Month

Snowdrops These delicate and beautiful flowers are amongst the first spring bulbs to bloom and remain a firm favourite with many for good reason.
Cyclamen coum Flowering from late winter to early spring. These hardy plants will self-seed readily forming a beautiful show around the garden.
Hellebores With attractive foliage and flowers in a wonderful array of shades hellebores are a real must-have. Self-sown seedlings can often be welcome additions to the garden too

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Gardening Calendar - March

March sees spring bulbs out in force with days often being bright and sunny, if a little windy. Buds are appearing all over the garden, as are the weeds!

Be warned that frosts are still likely so be careful not to put anything tender at risk. Now is a good time to pay a little attention to any crowded perennials in your borders, dividing and replanting as necessary.

The lawn is likely to show real signs of growth this month. Start mowing with blades at their highest settings and slowly lower over the next few weeks to prevent stressing your lawn. Now is a great time to start making repairs to any worn or damaged areas of your lawn.

Fruit & Vegetables

Prepare ground for sowing by removing weeds and applying a general fertiliser such as Growmore Garden Fertiliser.
Start to sow veg seeds outside including carrots, radishes and lettuces.
Plant out onions from sets.
Plant sprouted first early potatoes
Feed tree fruit and soft fruit bushes and mulch with organic Farmyard Manure.
For an early crop of strawberries, cover established plants now with cloches and protect the plants from slugs using Slug Buster.
Keep the vegetable and fruit beds weed free.

Jobs Around the Garden

Prune bushes and shrubs to encourage new growth.
Sow hardy annual flower seeds outside such as calendulas, cornflowers, love-in-a-mist and californian poppies.
Sow Sweet Peas.
Plant Gladioli corms and Lily bulbs around the garden borders.
Plant a spring container.
Clear debris and old stems from beds and borders as well as weeds and follow with good mulch of compost or bark.
Divide and replant congested perennials.
Dead head any early spring flowers and bulbs as they die off.
Now is the best time to move deciduous trees and shrubs.
Start to mow lawn regularly, start with blades on the highest setting.
Remove weeds and reseed lawns if needed.
Spring clean paths and driveways removing stubborn weeds.
Check/set up water butts.

Plants to Enjoy This Month

Wallflowers Traditional spring bedding and available in a range of colours, wallflowers are perfect in containers or borders and have a wonderful and unmistakable scent.
Daffodils Available in a wide array of sizes, flower forms and colour, daffs are often considered to be a real harbinger of spring.
Crocus One of the earliest spring flowers and available in a variety of colours. Both the large Dutch crocuses and the smaller specie types put on stunning displays in the spring garden.

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Gardening Calendar - April

April is a beautiful month for gardening with blossom on the trees and tulips flowering in the borders. Enjoy the gentle sunshine but don't forget there's lots to do!

Many vegetable and flower seeds can be sown this month both undercover and outdoors. Be careful with tender bedding plants as a late frost can still catch you out in April.

Lawns will be in full growth now and will need regular mowing and feeding to keep them at their best throughout the spring and summer.

Fruit & Vegetables

Sow greenhouse crops such as tomatoes.
Sow frost-tender veg, such as courgettes, runner beans and French beans on warm windowsills.
Plant asparagus, second early and maincrop potatoes.
Sow outdoor veg including swiss chard, broccoli and cabbage.
Harvest overwinted spring onions and forced rhubarb.
Weed fruit and veg patch regularly

Jobs Around the Garden

Sow cottage garden favourite biennials foxgloves, hollyhocks as well as annuals.
Leave spring bulbs for at least 6 weeks after flowering before removing foliage.
Feed spring bulbs with Nutri Plant Food to encourage greater blooms next year.
Tie in new shoots of climbers.
Trees and shrubs will benefit from an early spring feed to support strong and healthy growth.
Apply mulch around the base of trees after heavy rainfall try Bed & Border Chipped Bark.
Sow or turf new lawns.
Recut the lawn edges with a half moon edging iron.
Feed existing lawns with Aftercut and keep mowing fortnightly or weekly depending on the weather.
Spray roses against disease using Fungus Attack and watch for signs of pests.
Begin gradually hardening off tender bedding plants.

Plants to Enjoy This Month

Tulips Tulips come in huge variety of colours and shapes. Grow a mix of varieties to ensure a long display of striking blooms.
Fritillaria Meleagris The snakeshead fritillary is fantastic for naturalising around trees or in grass. The delicate bell-shaped flowers in mauve or white.
Brunnera macrophylla Forget-me-not type of flowers with large, silver and green leaves. The perfect plants for ground cover under large shrubs and trees.

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Gardening Calendar - May

May sees the sun shining more and the days getting noticeably longer. As the weather warms up don't forget to keep an eye out for those weeds and unwelcome pests in the garden.

Regular hoeing will keep the weeds at bay. Keep checking plants for signs of pest attack. Don't allow aphids or slugs to get a hold but deal with them at the first sign of attack.

Don't forget to start feeding your beds, borders and veg patch for great results later in the season.

Fruit & Vegetables

Continue sowing veg, particularly salad crops, little and often.
Protect young plants and veg from slugs.
Trim back the side shoots of gooseberry plants.
Protect fruit bushes, especially currants and gooseberries from bird damage.
Feed fruit with Growmore Garden Fertiliser or Feed-all Slow Release Plant Food.
Earth up potatoes.
Harvest overwintering onions, early varieties of beetroot and radishes.
Once your greenhouse tomatoes have flowers don't forget to tap them occasionally to help pollination

Jobs Around the Garden

Plant out sweet pea plants.
Trim and feed hedges.
Flowerbeds and borders can be fed using Feed-all Slow Release Plant Food.
Feed acid-loving plants now with Rhodo, Azalea and Camellia Plant Food.
Top-dress around all acid loving plants such as Pieris, Heathers, Rhododendrons and Azaleas with West+ Ericaceous Compost.
Clear out and compost spring bedding.
Finish planting shrubs.
Mow lawns regularly and feed with Aftercut.
Spray susceptible roses and other plants with Fungus Attack to prevent blackspot, mildew and rust from developing.
Support tall perennials to prevent damage.
Look out for the first greenfly on roses and whitefly in the greenhouse and treat with Bug Attack.
Protect young plants from slugs with Slug Attack.
Don't be tempted into putting out half-hardy bedding plants into the garden. A warm spell can be very encouraging; especially to beginner gardeners, but at this time of year a cold snap won't be far away. If your plants are shooting early they may need a little additional protection. Place a layer of horticultural fleece over any plants that are unexpectedly beginning to develop strong spring growth, especially if a frost threatens.

Plants to Enjoy This Month

Rhododendrons With their showy flowers these shrubs make a great addition to the garden and with such a variety of plants available there's a rhododendron for every garden.
Clematis 'Nelly Moser' A large flowered clematis, the first of which to open in the year. It provides a stunning show with its fabulous pink striped flowers.
Wisteria Floribunda Beautiful blue, purple or white pea like flowers are on show during the month of may and June, making Wisteria's a true classic of the early summer garden.

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Gardening Calendar - June

June sees the risk of frost pass so if you haven't already now is the time to plant out tender bedding plants and annuals for stunning summer displays.

June is a busy month in the gardening calendar with fruit, vegetables, containers and baskets needing regular feeding and watering. First crops are ready for harvesting and you need to keep sowing lettuces and other crops to ensure a season long supply.

Keep mowing and feeding the lawn to make sure it's looking its best and then sit down, relax and enjoy the fruits of your labour.

Fruit & Vegetables

Harvest veg as they become ready.
Earth up potatoes to ensure a bumper crop.
Keep fruit and veg well watered.
Liquid feed container and greenhouse crops try Nutri Fruit & Veg Feed.
Continue to sow salads, runner beans, peas, lettuces.

Jobs Around the Garden

Prepare for future season by sowing Winter Flowering Pansies, Wallflowers and Sweet William in trays of John Innes Seed Sowing Compost.
Lift and divide overgrown bulbs like daffodils.
Feed clumps of spring flowering bulbs with a liquid feed such as Nutri Plant Feed to help them prepare for next years show.
Plant out summer bedding plants once all risk of frost has passed.
Plant up containers using West+ Multi-Purpose Compost. Mix in Water Saving Gel and Feed All Slow Release Tablets for the best results.
Plant up hanging baskets, mixing in Water Saving Gel and slow release fertilisers with compost.
Keep slugs and snails at bay, especially around hostas try Slug Attack or Slug Buster.
Continue to mow lawn.
When you have cut the lawn apply the Liquid Aftercut Lawn Feed and Conditioner to the lawn as a tonic.
Make a check on the condition of the lawn, in particular for weeds and moss that may have invaded the lawn

Plants to Enjoy This Month

Clematis Large flowering hybrids will start to flower now and will do so for several month.
Philadelphus Otherwise known as 'mock orange', these shrubs have fragrant white flowers which will fill your garden with a wonderful scent.
Waterlillies Beautiful as well as functional, waterlillies are a must for any pond and are at their peak between June and September

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Gardening Calendar - July

July sees the flower garden out in force. Containers and hanging baskets are in their prime and perennials are covered in blooms.

If there has been very little rain you may well need to give beds and borders a good drink. Keep watering vegetables too, particularly those in containers.

Don't forget to make arrangements for watering and feeding your plants if you are off on holiday and mow the lawn before you go.

Fruit & Vegetables

Lift new potatoes.
Increase watering and feeding of crops in containers such as tomatoes.
Pinch out outdoor tomatoes when 4 trusses have formed.
Keep the fruit garden well weeded so that the weeds do not compete with your plants for vital moisture and nutrients.
Clear crops that have come to an end, feed soil with Growmore Garden Fertiliser and start replacing with new crops.

Jobs Around the Garden

Trees that have been recently planted, even up to two years ago, need careful attention if the weather is hot and dry.
If the weather is hot and dry some rose varieties and shrubs can quickly succumb to mildew.
Deadhead flowers as they fade to encourage more flower growth.
Keep feeding your container plants, try All Purpose Soluable Plant Food for a cost effective feed
Keep your lawn looking great by feeding with Aftercut.
Check slug protection and reapply if necessary try Slug Attack or Slug Buster

Plants to Enjoy This Month

Passiflora Exotic looking blue & white flowers will smoother this climber when grown up a sunny wall, covering a large area for amazing impact.
Fuchsias Ideal for containers and hanging baskets in wide array of colours, trailing or upright, there is a fuchsia to complement every garden and they will flowers for many month on end.
Petunias Another must for containers and baskets, these large and showy blooms are available in variety of colours and will flower all summer with a little care.

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Gardening Calendar - August

August sees a slight ease up of jobs to do in the garden which is great timing and gives you a chance to sit back and enjoy the results of your efforts over the last few month.

Continue feeding and watering pots, containers and vegetable and harvesting your crops as and when they are ready.

Fruit & Vegetables

Lift onions and dry on rack.
Continue to harvest veg such as peas and runner beans.
Harvest first apples and pears if ready.
Propagate new strawberry plants by selecting runners.
Continue to tie in and support tomato plants, peppers, cucumbers, aubergines and melons as they develop, especially as fruit starts to swell or they will quickly topple over and be damaged
Water and feed tomatoes.
Protect salad plants from slugs and snails.

Jobs Around the Garden

Keep feeding your container plants, try Nurti Plant Feed.
Use water wisely, consider setting up a waterbutt.
Prepare your pots and containers well in advance if you are planning a holiday.
Prune late summer flowering shrubs after flowering.
Prune Wisteria now to encourage the development of new flowering spurs for next year's display of flowers.
Keep an eye on any new plants in the garden and be sure to water them if the weather is dry.

Plants to Enjoy This Month

Sunflowers Wonderfully simple to grow, Sunflowers are at their very best this month. From the impressive giants through to the shorter varieties perfect for pots and containers no summer garden is complete without these cheery blooms.
Dahlias Whether the flowers are large, pompoms or cactus type they look fantastic mixed into beds and borders, making a striking impact whatever the shade.
Japanese anemones The large round flowers borne on top of long, tall stems will always face the sunshine so ensure they are planted somewhere to make the most of this.

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Gardening Calendar - September

September sees an increase in the amount of chores to do in the garden once again and autumn is not far away.

Now is great time to give your lawn that bit of attention it's needed. Sow a new lawn from seed or make repairs this month.

There are also plenty of jobs to be done in the kitchen garden and crops to be sowed for next years harvest.

Fruit & Vegetables

Sow winter lettuce.
Harvest early fruit.
Plant overwintering varieties of onion sets.
When your strawberry plants have finished fruiting, cut all the leaves off to the ground. Clear away the leaves and stems and top dress around the plants with Premium Garden Soil.
Take hardwood cuttings of currants and gooseberries.
Continue to water veg crops and harvest when ready.

Jobs Around the Garden

Autumn is an excellent time to plant containerised trees.
Check on newly planted trees.
Prune out and remove the last of the rose flowers as soon as they have withered.
Plant spring-flowering bulbs such as snowdrops and daffodils.
Divide overgrown perennials.
Autumn is a very good time to sow a new lawn from seed.
Aerate compacted areas of your lawn and apply Lawn Sand to fill in any holes, cracks and hollows.
If the lawn is very mossy then either treat with Autumn Lawn Feed & Moss Killer or use Westland Lawn Sand.
Resow bare patches using Lawn Repair Kit.
Tackle difficult weeds with Resolva 24H.
Force hyacinth and narcissi bulbs for Christmas.
Net ponds to stop leaves falling in.

Plants to Enjoy This Month

Chinese Lanterns The rather unimpressive flowers which appear during summer are replaced this month by papery lanterns which turn from green to orange ensuring a spectacular display
Asters Commonly called Michaelmas daisies, these plants burst into flower during September, often in shades of bluey-purple or white.
Perennial Grasses At their very best during autumn, the seed heads on these ornamental grasses ensure a fantastic display as they dance in the breeze.

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Gardening Calendar - October

October brings glorious colour to the garden with the leaves turning fiery shades of red and orange.

Collect fallen leaves to make leaf mould or compost for use next season.

Now is also a great time to plant spring flowering bulbs in borders and containers to ensure a fantastic display in March and April.

Fruit & Vegetables

Lift rhubarb and divide as necessary.
Protect late crops of salad, carrots and courgettes with fleece.
Sow herb seeds such as parsley, dill and coriander in pots to harvest from the windowsill during the winter.

Jobs Around the Garden

Plant tulip bulbs.
Plant new perennials and climbers.
Force Bulbs for Christmas.
Plant up some new autumn interest planters for the patio.
When the first frosts have blackened the foliage of your dahlias trim them back to the base of the main stems and carefully dig up the tubers.
Keep houseplants drier to slow down growth during the winter.
Clear garden, burn any diseased debris and compost the rest.
Rake up fallen leaves and keep for compost or leaf mould.
Take hardwood cuttings.
Take semi-ripe cuttings from shrubs and roses.

Plants to Enjoy This Month

Japenese Maples The epitome of autumn, Japanese Maples ensure a simply stunning display of flaming red during the month of October and November.
Colchicum Often called 'autumn crocus' or 'naked ladies' the bulbs will produce purple blooms very shortly after planting.
Pyracanthus Awash with their red or orange berries from October right through until January, these evergreen shrubs are perfect trained up walls or fences.

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Gardening Calendar - November

November is the ideal month for planting or moving shrubs and trees. Established hedges and trees will also appreciate a good tidy up too.

Tidy borders for the winter season removing dead or damaged foliage.

If you want to attract wildlife to your garden throughout the winter it's a good idea not too be too tidy, seed heads and fallen leaves make great hiding places for over wintering insects and bugs.

Fruit & Vegetables

Apply grease bands to fruit trees to protect them from winter moths.
Clear and prepare the ground to make new fruit or veg patch.
Clear the crops that are over and dig in organic Farmyard Manure.
Sow windowsill crops including herbs and salad leaves.
Grow sprouting seeds.
Start a mushroom kit

Jobs Around the Garden

Winter is a very good time for planting trees.
Tidy hedges and prune trees.
Plant a winter container.
Protect tender plants from wind and frost.
Continue to tidy garden for winter, tidy the borders removing dead foliage and debris and cutting back overgrown plants.

Plants to Enjoy This Month

Winter flowering heathers Perfect for winter containers or for exposed locations these heathers add a lovely splash of colour to the winter garden and will last into March.
Ornamental Cabbages Quirky yet colourful bedding plants, Ornamental Cabbages add colour with their purple, pink or cream hearts and are great in pots or borders.
Gaultheria Perfect for winter containers or ground cover, dark green leaves and pinky/red shimmery berries

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Gardening Calendar - December

December is quite a quiet month in the gardening calendar although on dry days there is always digging and preparation to be done for next year.

The garden can be a great source of Christmas decorations. Collect decorative seed heads, holly and ivy to create your own, stunning festive decorations.

Fruit & Vegetables

Sow windowsill crops including herbs and salad leaves.
Harvest autumn sown winter salads
Spread a thick layer of organic Farmyard Manure around the base of fruit trees.
Winter is a great time to plant new fruit trees, bushes and cane fruits as long as the ground is not frozen. Plant them while they are still dormant, before the end of February.
Propagate your favourite fruit, such as currants and gooseberries by taking hardwood cuttings.

Jobs Around the Garden

Protect plants and pots from frost damage by placing inside or wrapping in horticultural fleece.
Plant a winter planter to add colour to your patio
Water houseplants sparingly.
Clean house plants regularly to keep the leaves free of dust.
Continue to tidy the borders removing dead foliage and debris and cutting back overgrown plants.
After heavy winter rain, top up mulches around the base of your trees.
Don't add fertiliser or plant food at this time of year as it could promote early growth that would be affected by frost and freezing winds
Finish planting bare root roses.
Lightly dig over any bare areas of ground taking care not to damage any plant roots that may be present.
If your soil is poor then add some Premium Garden Soil and work this into the soil.

Plants to Enjoy This Month

Hellerborus Niger (Christmas Rose) Beautiful, large and round white flowers on evergreen plants. Often called the Christmas Rose, plants can be forced to flower for Christmas.
Holly Grown both for their foliage and for their berries and often associated with Christmas, Holly is at its peak this month and next and is wonderful in the garden or used for decoration around the house.
Mistletoe Grows naturally in the wild or grown, with a little help, in the garden, Mistletoe is a parasitic plant and therefore requires a suitable host. Christmas wouldn't be complete without a sprig!