Print out this useful gardening calendar to help you plan, maintain and get the most out of your garden, as well as keep it blooming all year round!
January
Clear out the shed, clean and sharpen or repair tools, and send the mower for servicing if necessary.
Clean paving and paths that can be dangerously slippery.
Order seed and plant catalogues and indulge in some armchair gardening as you decide what to grow this year.
February
So long as the ground isn’t frozen or soggy (if the soil sticks to your boots, it’s too wet!), plant hardy deciduous plants such as trees, shrubs, hedging, roses, perennials and fruit.
Start sowing seeds under cover somewhere warm and well-lit to grow young plants.
March
Sow hardy annuals and vegetables outside
Prepare ground for new lawns; feed and start mowing existing lawns.
Under cover, sow tender seeds, buy and pot up ‘starter’ annuals and tender perennials. Plant lily bulbs. Divide late-flowering perennials.
Prune roses and shrubs such as buddleja that flower in late summer.
April
Plant tender summer-flowering bulbs and tubers such as dahlias and gladioli (leave until next month in colder areas).
Plant evergreen shrubs and climbers.
Prune wall-trained shrubs like pyracantha and tie in climbers to keep growth neat.
Sow or turf new lawns.
May
Look out for pests and diseases: they move into action as the weather warms up.
Prune spring-flowering shrubs like forsythia immediately after flowering.
In mild areas, plant tender annuals and perennials outside once they’ve been hardened off.
Trim evergreen hedges.
Deadhead larger bulbs like daffodils and leave the foliage to die back naturally.
June
Plant up containers. Water regularly –d new plants mustn’t dry out.
Sow seed of biennials for flowers next year. Make regular sowings of salad vegetables for a steady supply.
Take cuttings of shrubs and other hardy plants.
Plant autumn-flowering bulbs.
July
Now the spring rush is over, sit back and enjoy the results of your work, but keep watering your plants.
Keep borders tidy by deadheading, weeding, and cutting back perennials such as geraniums that have flowered.
August
Feed and water annuals to keep them blooming lovely into the autumn.
Trim lavenders after flowering.
Sow vegetables for autumn and winter harvest.
September
Start planting many types of bulb for next spring . Plant biennials like wallflowers.
Now’s a good time to make a new lawn from turf, or feed an existing lawn.
Once summer bedding has finished, dig up and compost the plants.
October
November
Finish planting bulbs by the start of this month.
Cut back fleshy-leaved perennials such as hostas and sedums.
Plant bare root trees, fruit, and hedging.
Rake up fallen leaves from the lawn and on plants, but leave to rot down on bare soil.
December
The garden is mostly out of bounds now, but put some cheery winter-colour plants or tubs in the spots you can see from your windows.
Build a compost heap or two.
Do your Christmas shopping at garden centres – far less hassle than on the high street!
Gardening Glossary
annuals
Plants that complete their entire life cycle within one growing season. The plant germinates from seed, grows and blooms, and then produces seed and dies.
Gardening Glossary
biennials
A plant that take two growing seasons to complete its life cycle. It germinates and grows leaves and stems in the first year; produces flowers and fruit (seed) in the second, and then dies.
Gardening Glossary
bolt
When a plant flowers or produces seed prematurely.
Gardening Glossary
cold frame
A wooden or concrete block box in which you can grow plants or hold dormant during the cold winter months.
Gardening Glossary
cole crops
A family of vegetables, including broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, and Brussels sprouts. They thrive in cooler weather.
Gardening Glossary
complete fertilizer
Any fertilizer that contains all three of the primary nutrients, N-P-K (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium). Phrase is based on regulations governing the fertilizer industry. Does not mean that the fertilizer literally contains everything a plant needs to thrive.
Gardening Glossary
deadheading
The practice of pinching or cutting off spent flowers
Gardening Glossary
evaporative-pad humidifier
A humidifier in which fans blow across a moisture-laden pad that sits in a reservoir of water.
Gardening Glossary
harden off
The process of acclimating plants grown indoors gradually to the brighter light and cooler temperatures of the outside world.
Gardening Glossary
hardiness
The ability of a plant to survive is called its hardiness.
Gardening Glossary
humus
A stable end product of organic-matter decomposition that's believed to increase microbial activity in soil, improve soil structure, and enhance the root development of plants.
Gardening Glossary
Bacillus thuringiensis Bt
An effective bacteria that attacks only the larvae of caterpillar family insects. It is safe to other insects, animals, and humans.
Gardening Glossary
macronutrients
Mineral nutrients that plants need in the largest quantities: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sulfur.
Gardening Glossary
mulch
Organic or inorganic material placed over the surface of soil, usually directly over the root zone of growing plants. Used to conserve moisture, kill weed seedlings, modify soil temperature, provide attractive covering to garden beds.
Gardening Glossary
organic matter
Once-living stuff like compost, sawdust, animal manure, ground bark, grass clippings, and leaf mold (composted tree leaves). Used to enrich soil and improve soil texture.
Gardening Glossary
perennials
Any plant with a life cycle of three or more years. Herbaceous (non-woody) perennials include flowering plants and herbs, mainly. Woody perennials include trees and shrubs. Longevity depends on the plant and growing conditions.
Gardening Glossary
pH
The measure of soil's acidity. Soil with low pH means it's too acidic; soil with high pH means it's alkaline. Most plants grow best in soil with a pH value between 6.5 and 7.2. Neutral soils measure 7.
Gardening Glossary
photosynthesis
The process through which plants take nutrients from the air and from the water in the soil to produce sugars that fuels the plant's growth.
Gardening Glossary
primary nutrients
Nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium are the three nutrients plants need in the largest quantities.
Gardening Glossary
root crops
Plants with edible underground roots such as onions, carrots, beets, potatoes, turnips. Most root crops are cold-weather crops.
Gardening Glossary
self-blanching
A type of cauliflower with leaves that naturally curl over the head and exclude light. Requires cool temperatures for leaves to curl effectively.
Gardening Glossary
sets
Small onion bulbs, about 1/2-inch wide, that were started from seed the previous year. Grow onion sets with the pointy end up.
Gardening Glossary
side-dressing
The act of adding a small amount of fertilizer around or "on the side" of plants after they're growing.
Gardening Glossary
succession planting
Planting small, 2-to-4-foot patches of plants every two weeks throughout the growing season so that you can harvest a crop over an extended period of time.
Gardening Glossary
thinning
The act of cutting the least robust seedlings in your garden to give the healthier plants more room to grow.
Gardening Glossary
vining crops
Crops that grow on vines, such as cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, and winter squash. They usually require support (staking, trellising, etc.) to keep them off the ground.
