The garden is constantly changing, so there’s always something to do! Whether you’re pruning, sowing or tidying up your garden, it needs to be maintained for the best possible show.
In order to get the best from your garden, we have put together a checklist of jobs for you to do each month:
| Indoors | Try growing your very own mushroom kits indoors. This is a great job to keep you occupied while you’re waiting for the weather to warm up! |
| Potato Garden | Begin chitting your early potatoes – stand them in an “egg box”, in a bright, cool, frost-free environment.
Start growing your potatoes in containers undercover for an early crop. |
| Greenhouse | Keep your potato planters/containers inside, as frosts will kill the foliage. Plant Amaryllis bulbs in pots for indoor flowers for an early spring show. |
| Other Jobs | Keep an eye out for diseased plants and vegetables – remove any that are!
Check your dahlia tubers in storage and remove any that are rotting. Regularly mist your house plants – the central heating in your home will dry the air, which in turn will damage your indoor plants. |
| Flower Garden | Create more plants by lifting and dividing your snowdrops. |
| Vegetable Garden | Force your rhubarb plants for an early crop.
Continue chitting your early potatoes – placing them in egg boxes, in a cool, bright, frost free environment. Start sowing onion and shallot seed kits undercover. |
| Greenhouse | Do not sow too many seeds this early, as they may become leggy. |
| Flower Garden | Plant your summer flowering bulbs/tubers such as Gladiolus into beds, borders and containers.
Plant any forced flower bulbs outside which have finished flowering indoors e.g. daffodils and hyacinths. Deadhead daffodils as the flowers finish and let the foliage die naturally. |
| Vegetable Garden | Towards the end of March, plant your chitted potatoes.
Plant your onion/shallot sets and asparagus crowns now. |
| Greenhouse | Do not sow too many seeds this early, as they may become leggy. |
| Flower Garden | Continue planting your summer flowering bulbs/tubers such as lilies.
Continue planting your forced flower bulbs such as hyacinths. Continue to deadhead your daffodils and tulips as the flowers finish. Remember to check your container plants are not drying out as the warm weather will quickly affect the soil moisture. |
| Vegetable Garden | Continue planting your chitted potatoes outside, either in the ground or in containers.
Harvest your asparagus spears when they are at least 15cm tall. |
| Indoors | Keep an eye on your houseplants, as the longer light hours and warmer weather will make the plants require more water. |
| Other Jobs | In heavy soils, improve the drainage by incorporating plenty of organic matter.
Top dress your containers with a fresh layer of compost. Keep on top of your weeding as the weather begins to warm up. |
| Flower Garden | Harden off your dahlias and cannas for planting as soon as the risk of frost has passed.
Remember to not cut down the foliage of spring-flowering bulbs, let them die naturally. Remember to water and feed your container plants. |
| Vegetable Garden | Harvest your rhubarb – Only pick about a third of the stems available.
Be vigilant when weeding as weeds will compete for water, nutrients and light. |
| Flower Garden | Plant up hanging baskets and containers, now that the risk of frost has passed.
Divide and lift your bluebells/snowdrops when the leaves start to turn yellow. |
| Vegetable Garden | Continue to earth up potatoes as they grow.
Look out for garlic and onion leaves turning yellow, as this means they are ready to harvest. |
| Other Jobs | Water your containers/baskets regularly during warm spells.
Remember to feed your plants with liquid fertiliser every 2-4 weeks. |
| Flower Garden | Remember to dead-head bedding plants to encourage further flowering.
Keep an eye out for pests, as early treatment is best. |
| Vegetable Garden | Water your vegetable crops daily during warm spells, ensuring the soil is constantly moist.
Remove any spent foliage or diseased crops around your vegetable plants to keep them healthy. |
| Flower Garden | Stake your tall/top heavy plants to prevent wind damage.
Continue to deadhead your plants, as this helps to encourage further flowering. |
| Vegetable Garden | Remember to water your vegetable plants regularly during warm spells.
Continue to harvest your second-early potatoes. Begin to harvest your main-crop potatoes as the leaves turn yellow. Store your harvested potatoes in a hessian sack/bag, in a cool and dark place. |
| Other Jobs | Maintain your gardens ‘tidy look’ by keeping on top of weeds and deadheading plants.
Water your plants thoroughly when needed instead of every day. |
| Flower Garden | Continue to deadhead and feed your containers/hanging baskets.
For colourful blooms in time for Christmas, begin to force your hyacinth and amaryllis bulbs indoors. Begin to plant your spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and crocuses now! |
| Vegetable Garden | Continue to harvest your potatoes. Put them out to dry for a few hours before storage.
Begin the autumn clean up! Remove any old crop that have finished and clear away any weeds. Start to plant your autumn onion sets and garlic bulbs for cropping next year. |
| Flower Garden | Lift dahlia/begonia tubers and gladiolus corms to store over winter.
Plant daffodil, tulip and allium bulbs now. Either in containers, borders or naturalise in the grass. |
| Vegetable Garden | Continue to plant your garlic bulbs and onion sets.
Invest in mushroom kits, as this is the ideal time to grow them. |
| Other Jobs | Sweep up fallen leaves, as these can hide slugs and snails.
If the soil is dry, give your garden one last good water before the ground freezes. Remember to regularly check your stored potatoes and remove any which are rotting. One rotting potato can rot the whole bag! Once the plants are dormant, it is a good time to relocate any plants you wish to move. Why not build your very own cold frame! This will provide much needed protection to your young plants from extreme winter weather. |
| Flower Garden | The last chance to plant daffodil bulbs. Continue planting your tulips.
Plant up a large terracotta pot of hyacinths for a stunning display next spring. |
| Vegetable Garden | Divide mature clumps of rhubarb once they are dormant.
Continue to plant your autumn garlic bulbs and onion sets. |
| Other Jobs | Wash, dry and store any used pots/containers to remove any pests or diseases.
Continue to check your potatoes in storage. Move any containers to a sheltered spot. This will help to protect them from strong winds, frosts and heavy rain. |
| Flower Garden | The last chance to plant tulip bulbs, provide the ground is not frozen. |
| Vegetable Garden | Cut down any dead asparagus foliage and the top growth of Jerusalem artichokes. |
| Other Jobs | Move your containers into a sheltered spot, clustering them together to help protect the root systems from suffering frost damage.
Continue to collect any fallen leaves. |
| Indoors | Try growing your very own mushroom kits indoors. This is a great job to keep you occupied while you’re waiting for the weather to warm up! |
| Potato Garden | Begin chitting your early potatoes – stand them in an “egg box”, in a bright, cool, frost-free environment.
Start growing your potatoes in containers undercover for an early crop. |
| Greenhouse | Keep your potato planters/containers inside, as frosts will kill the foliage. Plant Amaryllis bulbs in pots for indoor flowers for an early spring show. |
| Other Jobs | Keep an eye out for diseased plants and vegetables – remove any that are!
Check your dahlia tubers in storage and remove any that are rotting. Regularly mist your house plants – the central heating in your home will dry the air, which in turn will damage your indoor plants. |
| Flower Garden | Create more plants by lifting and dividing your snowdrops. |
| Vegetable Garden | Force your rhubarb plants for an early crop.
Continue chitting your early potatoes – placing them in egg boxes, in a cool, bright, frost free environment. Start sowing onion and shallot seed kits undercover. |
| Greenhouse | Do not sow too many seeds this early, as they may become leggy. |
| Flower Garden | Plant your summer flowering bulbs/tubers such as Gladiolus into beds, borders and containers.
Plant any forced flower bulbs outside which have finished flowering indoors e.g. daffodils and hyacinths. Deadhead daffodils as the flowers finish and let the foliage die naturally. |
| Vegetable Garden | Towards the end of March, plant your chitted potatoes.
Plant your onion/shallot sets and asparagus crowns now. |
| Greenhouse | Do not sow too many seeds this early, as they may become leggy. |
| Flower Garden | Continue planting your summer flowering bulbs/tubers such as lilies.
Continue planting your forced flower bulbs such as hyacinths. Continue to deadhead your daffodils and tulips as the flowers finish. Remember to check your container plants are not drying out as the warm weather will quickly affect the soil moisture. |
| Vegetable Garden | Continue planting your chitted potatoes outside, either in the ground or in containers.
Harvest your asparagus spears when they are at least 15cm tall. |
| Indoors | Keep an eye on your houseplants, as the longer light hours and warmer weather will make the plants require more water. |
| Other Jobs | In heavy soils, improve the drainage by incorporating plenty of organic matter.
Top dress your containers with a fresh layer of compost. Keep on top of your weeding as the weather begins to warm up. |
| Flower Garden | Harden off your dahlias and cannas for planting as soon as the risk of frost has passed.
Remember to not cut down the foliage of spring-flowering bulbs, let them die naturally. Remember to water and feed your container plants. |
| Vegetable Garden | Harvest your rhubarb – Only pick about a third of the stems available.
Be vigilant when weeding as weeds will compete for water, nutrients and light. |
| Flower Garden | Plant up hanging baskets and containers, now that the risk of frost has passed.
Divide and lift your bluebells/snowdrops when the leaves start to turn yellow. |
| Vegetable Garden | Continue to earth up potatoes as they grow.
Look out for garlic and onion leaves turning yellow, as this means they are ready to harvest. |
| Other Jobs | Water your containers/baskets regularly during warm spells.
Remember to feed your plants with liquid fertiliser every 2-4 weeks. |
| Flower Garden | Remember to dead-head bedding plants to encourage further flowering.
Keep an eye out for pests, as early treatment is best. |
| Vegetable Garden | Water your vegetable crops daily during warm spells, ensuring the soil is constantly moist.
Remove any spent foliage or diseased crops around your vegetable plants to keep them healthy. |
| Flower Garden | Stake your tall/top heavy plants to prevent wind damage.
Continue to deadhead your plants, as this helps to encourage further flowering. |
| Vegetable Garden | Remember to water your vegetable plants regularly during warm spells.
Continue to harvest your second-early potatoes. Begin to harvest your main-crop potatoes as the leaves turn yellow. Store your harvested potatoes in a hessian sack/bag, in a cool and dark place. |
| Other Jobs | Maintain your gardens ‘tidy look’ by keeping on top of weeds and deadheading plants.
Water your plants thoroughly when needed instead of every day. |
| Flower Garden | Continue to deadhead and feed your containers/hanging baskets.
For colourful blooms in time for Christmas, begin to force your hyacinth and amaryllis bulbs indoors. Begin to plant your spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and crocuses now! |
| Vegetable Garden | Continue to harvest your potatoes. Put them out to dry for a few hours before storage.
Begin the autumn clean up! Remove any old crop that have finished and clear away any weeds. Start to plant your autumn onion sets and garlic bulbs for cropping next year. |
| Flower Garden | Lift dahlia/begonia tubers and gladiolus corms to store over winter.
Plant daffodil, tulip and allium bulbs now. Either in containers, borders or naturalise in the grass. |
| Vegetable Garden | Continue to plant your garlic bulbs and onion sets.
Invest in mushroom kits, as this is the ideal time to grow them. |
| Other Jobs | Sweep up fallen leaves, as these can hide slugs and snails.
If the soil is dry, give your garden one last good water before the ground freezes. Remember to regularly check your stored potatoes and remove any which are rotting. One rotting potato can rot the whole bag! Once the plants are dormant, it is a good time to relocate any plants you wish to move. Why not build your very own cold frame! This will provide much needed protection to your young plants from extreme winter weather. |
| Flower Garden | The last chance to plant daffodil bulbs. Continue planting your tulips.
Plant up a large terracotta pot of hyacinths for a stunning display next spring. |
| Vegetable Garden | Divide mature clumps of rhubarb once they are dormant.
Continue to plant your autumn garlic bulbs and onion sets. |
| Other Jobs | Wash, dry and store any used pots/containers to remove any pests or diseases.
Continue to check your potatoes in storage. Move any containers to a sheltered spot. This will help to protect them from strong winds, frosts and heavy rain. |
| Flower Garden | The last chance to plant tulip bulbs, provide the ground is not frozen. |
| Vegetable Garden | Cut down any dead asparagus foliage and the top growth of Jerusalem artichokes. |
| Other Jobs | Move your containers into a sheltered spot, clustering them together to help protect the root systems from suffering frost damage.
Continue to collect any fallen leaves. |