Gardening Calendar
Gardening Calendar
JANUARY
January is when climbers, shrubs and trees are leafless and in their dormant period and one of the best gardening months for pruning any garden subjects that could cause problems during winter storms and high winds. Wisteria is a good example of a climber that can be pruned now. After flowering the previous season and given a summer pruning it produces long wispy new growths that need to be controlled by cutting back. Either summer or winter pruning and whichever plant or shrub you are pruning the first step is to remove any dead or damaged branches.
JANUARY
January is when climbers, shrubs and trees are leafless and in their dormant period and one of the best gardening months for pruning any garden subjects that could cause problems during winter storms and high winds. Wisteria is a good example of a climber that can be pruned now. After flowering the previous season and given a summer pruning it produces long wispy new growths that need to be controlled by cutting back. Either summer or winter pruning and whichever plant or shrub you are pruning the first step is to remove any dead or damaged branches.
JANUARY
January is when climbers, shrubs and trees are leafless and in their dormant period and one of the best gardening months for pruning any garden subjects that could cause problems during winter storms and high winds. Wisteria is a good example of a climber that can be pruned now. After flowering the previous season and given a summer pruning it produces long wispy new growths that need to be controlled by cutting back. Either summer or winter pruning and whichever plant or shrub you are pruning the first step is to remove any dead or damaged branches.
AUGUST
August is typically one of the warmest months of the year, with an average of 6 hours of lovely sunshine every day, but there can still be periods of rain. It’s one of the best months to enjoy the fruits of your labour earlier in the year. Barbecues, al fresco dining, picking lots of tasty fruit and vegetables and just pottering around keeping the garden looking great are just some of the rewards you should enjoy to the full.
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Ensure summer bedding displays continue to flower well into autumn with regular watering, feeding and deadheading.
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Keep pots, tubs and hanging baskets looking great by watering daily and feeding every 10-14 days.
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Keep deadheading roses as the flowers fade to keep them flowering well into autumn and beyond.
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This is a great time to take semi-ripe cuttings of shrubs such as choisya, hebe, hydrangea, lavender and rosemary.
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Cut back the old leaves of summer-flowering perennials to encourage new, more attractive foliage.
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Take stem cuttings of half-hardy perennials and patio plants, such as fuchsias and pelargoniums, to produce new plants for next year.
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Buy winter and spring bedding plug plants and pot them up to produce good-sized plants for planting in autumn.
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Plug gaps in beds and borders with good-sized summer-flowering plants from the garden centre.
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Give hedges a good trim to keep them looking neat and tidy.
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Lightly trim over lavender plants after flowering – don’t cut into old, leafless wood.
Vegetable Garden:
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Continue to feed tomatoes, peppers, aubergines and cucumbers every fortnight with a high potash liquid plant food.
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Support branches of plums to prevent them snapping under the weight of fruit.
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Tie in and train the new shoots of blackberries and hybrid berries.
Lawn care:
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Mow the lawn whenever the grass is growing and needs a cut.
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Lawns can look tired at this time of year, so give them a pick-me-up with a liquid lawn food.
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Water the lawn during prolonged hot, dry periods if you want to keep it green and growing well.
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