Garden tips for January
Lawns and Borders |
Remove leaves and debris from lawns and borders and place in your compost heap, with a sprinkle of soil and an activator. Keep off lawns where possible when they are frosted or covered in snow. |
Protect |
Shoots of tulips against slugs - use slug pellets. |
Alpines |
Remove dead leaves and surround with grit to provide good drainage. |
Conifers & shrubs |
Remove snow to prevent damage to branches - I use a brush! |
Vegetables |
Finish digging patches when the weather is suitable. |
Routine tasks |
Order seeds from catalogues received in autumn and plan your vegetable and herb garden for the forthcoming season. |
Garden tips for February
Vegetables |
Start your Onion sets under glass and also commence chitting your potatoes. |
Sweet Peas |
If you haven't sown your sweet peas last autumn now is the time to do just that, placing a seed in each small modular tray and keep under glass. |
Fruit |
Spray your fruit trees and bushes with an appropriate winter wash and finish winter pruning. Don't forget to cut away the old canes on your Raspberries and plant out Gooseberry and Currant bushes when there is no frost or snow. |
Prune |
Towards the of February prune winter flowering Jasmine to tidy up and provide some fertilizer for your plants. |
General |
Apply fertilizer and well rotted compost to your garden boarders, rose beds and vegetable plots. |
Garden tips for March
Pruning |
Prune roses and late flowering shrubs. |
Lawns |
Tidy all your garden boarders and edge your lawn for a neat appearance. |
Perennials |
Divide Herbaceous Perennials and share with friends especially if they have outgrown their position. |
Trees |
Replant trees and shrubs weather permitted. |
Veg |
Sow more vegetable seeds and annual bedding for your summer display. |
Ferns and Grasses |
Trim ferns and ornamental grasses - Miscanthus sinensis etc should now be cut back to ground level - you will see the new shoots already starting for the new year! |
Garden tips for April
Roses |
Remove suckers from your roses and re-firm if necessary. |
Water Feature |
If you have a water feature within your garden check the pump is working following the cold snap. Clean your pond or water feature removing debris and pond weed. A pair of old tights helps prevent your pump from clogging up the filter! |
Bulbs |
Fertilize your garden bulbs after flowering and leave them to naturally die back. |
Lavenders |
Lightly trim your lavenders but only lightly to keep them tidy. |
Lawn |
Carry out lawn maintenance operations: aerate, feed and re sow where appropriate. Mow weekly setting the blade high. |
Garden tips for May
Rock Garden |
'Top dress' your rock garden with an equal mix of loam, sharp sand and peat and add a handful of fertilizer to each bucketful of dressing. |
Annuals |
Weed and thin annuals and other seedlings and prick out and transplant as required. |
Mulching |
Apply your leaf mould to garden borders especially acid-lovers e.g. Azaleas & Camellias. |
Pot Plants |
Plants such as Fuchsias, Geraniums and Verbenas that have been kept in pots through the winter may be planted out in beds or borders as the weather warms up and when no further frost is forecast. |
Lawns |
Repair any patches within your lawn, cut regularly as weather allows and feed with Spring and Summer. |
Vegetables |
Plant lettuce, radish, spring onions and wintergreens and late crop potatoes may be chitted. Don't forget Potato 'Maxine' which is a 2nd early! French and runner beans can be sown in late May. Give a little fertilizer before planting. Earth up potatoes when the foliage height becomes about 10". |
Tomatoes |
May be planted in cold greenhouse. Remove any side shoots and feed when first truss appears. |
Fruit |
Spray Gooseberry bushes and Strawberry plants against fungus diseases with safe insecticide. |
Hanging baskets, tubs & pots |
Plant up in the later part of this month/early June. Ensure drainage in your pots, fill with multi-purpose compost and regularly water and feed your plants to ensure your colourful display this summer. |
Tulips |
To keep until next year, wait until the leaves go yellow then cut them off the bulb and brush soil off bulb. Let them dry over night then dust with a fungicide and store in a paper bag. Replant in November. |
Roses |
Feed your roses in the middle of May for wonderful blooms this summer. |
Box hedges |
Trim Box hedges for neat appearance and on young trees cut away dead wood which should be clearly visible this time of year. Check if a tree stakes are still needed and loosen as required. |
Garden tips for June
Privet |
Clip Privet every 3 weeks if you wish to maintain a formal hedge. |
Prune |
Prune Philadelphus before it flowers and allow more light and air for healthy growth. Don't forget to prune the older stems of the Deutzia and Weigela and cut hard back post flowering. |
Summer Bedding in baskets |
Plant out from the end of May if no frost forecast and enjoy your long awaited colour. |
Sow |
Californian poppies directly into the soil for colour and encourage hoverflies as the larvae feed on aphid. |
Tomatoes |
Remove side shoots and set up supports for them to train/tie in. |
Vegetables |
Raise your Marrows, Pumpkins and Courgettes in your glasshouse and plant out other veg such as Cauliflower, Broccoli, Sweet Pepper etc. |
Aphids |
Watch out for aphids on roses, tomatoes and soft fruits and for sawfly on gooseberries - purchase appropriate insecticide. |
Lawns |
Cut often but not too close and avoid treatments in dry periods. |
Routine tasks |
Pinch out the growing points of sweet peas, broad and runner beans. |
Garden tips for July
Vegetables |
Plant Broccoli now and start sowing French Beans for September cropping. |
Remove |
Deadhead Rhododendrons, Azaleas, Erica, Lilac, Laburnum and Geraniums. |
Aphids |
Watch out for aphids on your lovely roses, tomatoes and soft fruits and for sawfly on gooseberries. |
Newly Planted |
Trees, shrubs and other garden plants - give a good soak if the soil starts to dry out - the best time for planting in April or September to ensure they are well watered in!!! |
Roses |
Remove blooms as they fade and feed regularly. Prevent blackspot and mildew by regularly applying chemicals. |
Wallflowers |
Remove growing points to help plant bush out. |
Sweet Peas |
Remove side shoots and tendrils, feed regularly, they also like lots of water. |
Cuttings |
Propagate half-hardy plants e.g. Fuchsias, Petunias, Verbenas and Pelargoniums. Those cuttings that have rooted should be planted in pots to keep indoors over winter. Now is also a good time to clip and take cuttings from Box, Lavenders and Sage. |
Trim |
Shrubs to formal shapes such as Yew trees and Hollies. |
Garden tips for August
Wishlist to move plants around |
Make a note of plants dying off for you to move in the autumn months. |
Aphids |
Check all plants regularly for these lovely aphids and spray with appropriate insecticide. |
Roses |
Keep on deadheading your roses to encourage a second flush of flowers. |
Blooms |
Cut sweet pea blooms and continue to deadhead your bedding plants in pots and containers. |
Bulbs |
Towards the end of August beautiful bulbs appear in shops and garden centres. Look out for Tulipa 'Prestans Fusilier' these are miniature, multiheaded and lovely rich red - they are a delight. |
Sowing outside |
Plant Onion sets outdoors for over wintering as well as Angelica, Salad Onions, Spring Lettuce, Winter corn salad and Spinach. |
Harvesting |
Harvest all your lovely crops following your seasons hard work, store in a dry cool place. |
Garden tips for September
Hedges |
Trim your hedges to provide a neat finished before the winter months. Fagus sylvatica (purple Beech) has lovely bright red shoots on their new growth. Propagate these shoots and hopefully you will have new plants this time next year. |
Raspberries |
Cut out old canes after fruiting - Mulch generously as they are shallow rooting and start to empty your well rotted composting. |
Pelargoniums |
Cuttings may be taken now, insert 4/5 in a 5" pot which can be kept on a windowsill until spring. |
Wallflowers |
Remove growing points to make bushy. |
Lawns |
Sow new lawns and re-seed worn areas. Aerate and top dress with a fertilizer high in phosphorus and potassium and low in nitrogen. Mow with blades not too low. Cover patches of moss in lawns with sharp sand and rake out when black. |
Bulbs |
Purchase Prepared hyacinth bulbs to ensure flowering for Christmas. |
Trees & Shrubs |
Plant trees, shrubs and roses, adding peat & fertiliser to the soil and watering well. This time is ideal to plant conifers and other evergreens. |
Garden tips for October
Annuals |
Remove and fork in a dressing of well rotted manure or compost and plant up with bulbs, polyanthus, pansies and wallflowers. |
Dahlias |
Lift tubers as soon as tops are blackened by frost. Cut stems to two to tree inches and store in a deep box, with soil cover, where temperatures will not fall below 34ºF |
Sweet Peas |
Sow under cover and protect from mice. |
Vegetables |
Finish lifting potatoes, beetroot, carrots and parsnips. |
Fruit |
Plant new Rhubarb crowns. |
Autumn Digging |
This is important to clear annual weeds and enables frost to penetrate and break up the rough dug soil and apply Lime. |
Ponds |
Cover with plastic netting to keep fallen leaves out. |
Hardy boarder plants |
These can be divided and replanted in enriched soil. |
Alpines |
Protect woolly leaved plants from wet, which can rot the foliage. Trim spreading plants and protect saxifrage, rock geraniums from being chocked by fallen leaves. |
Fallen leaves |
Keep lawns clear to prevent damage to grass. Add leaves to compost or put in opaque plastic bag to rot down, moisten the leaves and pierce a few holes in the bag. |
House Plants |
Avoid leaving plants on cold window sills behind curtains. Place Christmas cactus in a room that doesn't have a light on in the evening. |
Garden tips for November
Kitchen garden |
Dig over vacant plots so that frost may do its work. Working in well rotted manure or garden compost now or in Spring. |
Greenhouses |
Now is the time to check that the structure is sound and that all rubbish and dead plant material is cleared. Wash down with disinfectant. Bring in late Chrysanthemums and tender plants for over-wintering. |
Propagation |
Now is the time to take Carnation & Chrysanthemum cutting. Do not over water. |
Trees & Shrubs |
Cut back roses by half to prevent wind or snow damage. |
New roses & deciduous trees |
These may be planted now. Add fertilizer to soil, but not directly to roots. Stake well until roots develop. |
Garden hand tools |
Check and maintain. Clean and sharpen blades of secateurs and spades. Apply linseed oil to wooden handles. |
Winter tidy up |
Sort out your container & pots by disposing of annuals on the compost heap and keep tender perennials in a conservatory or greenhouse. |
Store Vegetables |
They must be in dry, dark, cool conditions with good ventilation, preferably on slatted trays. |
Garden tips for December
Greenhouse |
Light is very important at this time of year, so keep glass as clean as possible and provide ventilation whenever possible. |
Cut down |
Chrysanthemums after flowering and stand in pots in cold frames. |
Roses |
Collect fallen leaves and bin the to avoid black spot. Spray ground now and at leaf burst. |
Lawns |
Avoid walking on when covered by frost or snow. Keep leaf free. |
Christmas Wreaths |
Collect plant materials for Christmas / festive decorations. |
Vegetables |
Remove old leaves from cabbages and sprouts to reduce the risk of botrytis. Also check any stored crops for mould. |
Fruit |
Start forcing Rhubarb in the dark and plant new fruit trees, bushes & cane fruits. |
Trees & Shrubs |
Continue to plant root-wrapped roses, trees & shrubs if the ground is not frozen or waterlogged. |
Flowers |
Scatter slug pellets around Christmas roses to prevent damage. |
Prune roses, firm around the bases.
Sow half hardy annuals in your glasshouse and pot up Lilies for early indoor displays.