The Gardener's Year
The life of a gardener is sadly not just for the warm summer months. There are jobs and important tasks to do all year round. The following simple seasonal guide will help you navigate the gardening year. If you want a hand, just give us a shout ... Blooming Flora Limited are more than happy to come along and help.
SPRING
Prepare the soil with dug-in fertiliser and compost. Wage a war on those pesky weeds. Get them early before they take over.
Start sowing hardy veg like onions, potatoes and salad. Read the instructions on the packets as some varieties are more resilient than others. Protect them with fleeces or poly-tunnels if the weather turns bad.
Plant your pots and beds with summer flowering bulbs and tubas.
Prune the roses.
Consider a lawn makeover - scarify it, rake it, spike it and feed it with a spring lawn feed.
Support your rapidly sprouting new growth with stakes, canes, trellis and wires.
Consider fitting water-butts on fall pipes to capture well needed rainwater for the dry summer months.
​
SUMMER
Consider investing in Nematodes to keep the slugs and snails on their toes!
The first hedge trim for privet, beech and conifer.
Add bedding plants to baskets and boarders after the last frost.
Feed and water, feed and water, feed and water! Early evening watering when the sun's gone down is the best time. Tomato feed is a good all-rounder.
Regular hoeing of the beds and boards on a dry and sunny day keeps the weeds at bay.
Regular dead-heading promotes new growth.
Cut your grass regularly. A well mowed lawn grows thick and lush, but keep the blades high.
AUTUMN
​
Plant the spring bulbs like tulips, hyacinths and daffodils.
Encourage the pollinators to 'over winter' at your place with bug hotels and bee boxes.
Maintain, service and sharpen your mower and hedge cutting tools before they go into winter hibernation.
Mulch the ground with a warm blanket of rich compost.
The best time to move misplaced or self-seeded plants whilst the ground is warm and moist.
The last hedge trim.
Rake up the leaves. Bag them up, punch some holes. The contents will turn into nutritious soil conditioner.
Cover your pond with netting to protect it from unwanted leaf fall.
The best time to cut back a tree is when the leaves have fallen.
If you do have a garden bonfire, check it for hedgehogs first.
​
​
​
WINTER
​
Feed the birds. They need you!
Plant new bushes and fruit trees whilst the ground is warm and before it freezes.
Protect your investment. Wrap tender plants in horticultural fleece to protect them against harsh winds and frost. Low-growing plants call also be protected in poly-tunnels.
Move very delicate plants into a conservatory or greenhouse before the first frost.
Knock off standing snow from shrubs and trees. The weight could snap branches.
Lift your pots off the ground. Stand them on feet to help them drain freely. Wet compost could damage roots and excess water in the pots could freeze and crack them.
Early preparation of the ground. On a dry day, dig over the ground to help airiate the soil.
Prune the climbers and late flowering shrubs in late winter.