Your Patch gardening calendar
Whether you’re working with a sprawling garden, a compact balcony or a wild and wonderful window box, there are always jobs to be done in the horti world. With each season bringing a new opportunity for fresh greenery and blooms, we’ve compiled a handy gardening calendar to help you keep on top of everything – including seasonal gardening jobs and advice on what to plant when. If you’ve ever greeted spring excited at the prospect of daffodils, before quickly realising you should have planted them six months earlier, this season-by-season checklist is for you.
What to plant when in the UK
Spring
Spring is the season when nature comes alive. After a long, grey winter, the first signs of greenery are a welcome sight. It’s also the perfect time to get your garden ready for warmer weather.
Once the first winter frosts have gone (usually around April), you can plant up your potted citrus trees by removing them from their nursery pots and adding them to decorative pots with drainage holes. If this is your citrus trees’ first year, be mindful that they might not fruit straight away. This is also a good time to plant your climbing plants. Tie them to a trellis or balcony railing to help them reach new heights, continuing to do so throughout the year to help train them and control their direction.
In May, when the weather has warmed up, you can start planting patio plants like lavender, as well as summer flowering plants such as hydrangeas and salvias. From late spring, we recommend giving your plants some liquid feed – each plant will require different plant food, so check your plant’s care guide before doing so.
Spring plants
Summer
As the weather warms up, your summer flowering plants will be in full bloom! This is the time to cut back any spring flowering plants, and deadhead any summer flowers to encourage new buds. All of your plants will need extra watering during hot weather, but pay special attention to your potted plants, as they will dry out quicker than those planted in the ground. Come late August, you can get ahead and start planting late-flowering perennials, such as skimmias.
Summer plants
Autumn
As the leaves change from green to gold, nature ushers in a whole new season of colour. This is a good time to focus on Autumn interest plants, such as acers, which will be turning a beautiful burgundy colour, as well as evergreen plants that will thrive even as the temperature drops.
Before the frost arrives, get ahead and plant your winter flowering plants in September and October. Hellebores and camellias will add winter interest right through to the early days of spring. Protect any tender plants, such as ferns and climbing roses, by adding horticultural fleece to potted plants and a layer of compost to any that are in the ground.
You can also plan ahead for spring’s return, by getting clematis, magnolia trees and jasmine planted up in October, when the autumn rain and shadier days will help to establish the plants in time for next year.
Autumn plants
Winter
The coldest months of the year are dedicated to prep. If you want a garden of crops in pots to harvest throughout summer and autumn, then now’s the time to get them planted up (the same applies if you are planting them in the ground, but make sure it’s not frozen). Whether it’s blueberries, raspberries and blackberries, or pears, apples and cherries, these fruiting plants are best planted while they are dormant (have no leaves and only emerging buds), giving them plenty of time to put down roots before spring arrives, when they will pump all of their energy into producing shoots.
You can also use this time to cut back any perennials that have finished flowering, and prune existing roses, raspberry plants, pear trees and apple trees to get them ready for their next crop.
What months are best for gardening?
The best time for planting outdoor plants is in spring (when you’ll be planting ahead for summer) or autumn (when you’re preparing for the next spring). In spring, the best month is April – it’s late enough in the year to (hopefully) avoid the frost, and early enough to get your plants established in time for warmer weather. In autumn, September to October are the best months for gardening, as the shadier days and autumn rainfall will help your plants establish in time for the spring season.
Which plant is best for all seasons?
While some plants only thrive for a few months a year, there are a number of garden plants that thrive all year round. Our range of evergreen plants will look good whatever the season. These hardy types keep their leaves all year long, ensuring your outdoor space looks lush from spring through to winter.
Ready to get started? Explore our range of outdoor plants and pots.
