Good gardening is mostly a matter of timing. Sow too early and seedlings languish in cold soil; plant out too late and you lose half the season. This month-by-month guide is a general framework for the temperate garden — adjust it a week or two either way to suit your own plot, which you will come to know better than any calendar.
Late winter (January–February)
The quiet months. Plan, order seed, and force a little rhubarb. Under cover, sow slow starters such as chillies and sweet peas on a warm windowsill. Outdoors, continue winter pruning of apples, pears and dormant deciduous trees while they sleep.
Early spring (March–April)
The garden wakes. This is the great sowing season under cover — tomatoes, courgettes and half-hardy annuals. Outdoors, once the soil is workable, sow hardy vegetables and plant bare-root and early perennials. Begin hardening off as the weeks warm.
Late spring (May)
The busiest month. Once the risk of frost has truly passed, plant out tender crops and summer bedding. Keep an eye on late cold snaps and have fleece ready. This is the ideal window to plant most container-grown perennials, giving them a full season to establish.
Summer (June–August)
Growth is at full tilt. The work now is maintenance: watering deeply but less often, feeding hungry plants, deadheading to prolong flowering, and staying ahead of weeds. Sow biennials and take softwood cuttings. Water new plantings faithfully through any dry spell.
Autumn (September–November)
The second planting season — and arguably the best. Warm soil and cooling air make autumn ideal for planting trees, shrubs and hardy perennials, which root through the winter and race away next spring. Plant spring bulbs, divide congested clumps, and begin tidying spent growth.
Early winter (December)
Put the garden to bed. Mulch borders, protect tender plants, clean and store tools, and order next year's seed. Rest — you have earned it, and so has the soil.
A note on your own garden
No calendar can replace watching your own plot: a sheltered southern garden may run a fortnight ahead of an exposed northern one. Keep a simple notebook of what you sowed and when, and within a couple of seasons you will have a planting calendar worth more than any book.
Autumn and spring are the finest times to plant perennials. Browse the current collection to find varieties ready for your garden this season.