April arrives with a flourish! One minute we’re admiring frothy cherry blossom against bright blue skies, the next we’re reaching for a fleece to protect tender shoots from a sharp overnight frost. It is a month of promise — and unpredictability — but also one of the most exciting times to be in the garden. Sweet peas can be sown outside now. Prune penstemons and other slightly tender plants, divide herbaceous perennials.
March is the month to get seeds and plants going. Sow lettuce, rocket, carrots, peas and broad beans outside as soon as the soil is workable. Early potatoes that have been chitted can go out and onion and shallot sets can be planted. Undercover/indoors sow your tomatoes, peppers, aubergines. Prune Gooseberries and currants now as the sap is beginning to rise, and cuts will heal faster.
February sits on the edge of winter and spring. Snowdrops, crocuses and early daffodils begin to lift our spirits, even though cold nights and frosts still linger. On mild days, take time to tidy borders, cutting back old stems before new growth emerges. In late February cut back ornamental grasses and other perennials left for winter interest.
Prune back shrubs hard such as Cornus and Salix grown for winter coloured stems. Top dress beds and borders with a balanced fertiliser. Cut back late flowering (group 3) Clematis such as Clematis viticella, C. orientalis and C. “Jackmannii” to a low pair of strong buds.
January may feel quiet in the garden, but it’s a valuable month for setting the tone for the year ahead. Use these short, chilly weeks to review last year’s successes, choose new seeds and plan where everything will go.
A little preparation now pays off in spring. Top up feeders with high-energy food and break any ice on bird baths or ponds.
Tidy up fallen leaves from lawns, paths and beds to prevent rot and slippery surfaces. Compost them if dry. Protect tender plants with fleece, cloches, or straw. Bubble wrap pots (especially terracotta) to stop them cracking in frost. Check ties and supports after windy weather. Cut back
dead perennials if you haven’t already – or leave some seed heads for birds and winter interest.
[Read more…] about Wellie’s Gardening Tips for December 2025
November may seem like a sleepy month, but your garden — and the wildlife that shares it — is quietly getting ready for the year ahead. So pull on your gloves, enjoy the fresh air, and know that every small bit of care now helps your garden thrive in spring.
[Read more…] about Wellie’s Gardening Tips for November 2025
All the overgrown clumps of herbaceous perennials that you have been saying this summer need to be split, now is the time to do it, as the plants are dying down for the winter. Don’t worry if you aren’t able to do them all, some can wait until the spring.
Make the most of the warmth in the air and soil, before the temperatures drop at the beginning of Autumn. To help grapes ripen, remove leaves shading fruit. Check if there are any heavy laden branches on fruit trees that need supporting. Pinch out tops of tomatoes, remove any new flowers, and remove any growth below the lowest fruit and growth shading fruit.
[Read more…] about Wellie’s Gardening Tips for September 2025
There is lots of pruning and harvesting to be done in August. Dead head faded blooms, but leave some to turn into seedheads for the birds and ones that you plan to sow for next year. Crysanths will benefit from being pinched or sheared back, encouraging more growth and flowers. Take pelargonium cuttings. Trim lavender plants by removing flower stalks and about 2.5cm of the current year’s growth.
This month focus on maintaining your garden, encouraging further blooms and preparing for harvesting. Divide congested clumps of bearded iris after flowering. Dead head bedding plants, sweet peas, roses and herbaceous plants to encourage more flowers. Trim evergreen hedges, including conifers, (but still just check for nesting birds first). Feed dahlias and cannas every two weeks with a high potassium fertilizer, such as tomato feed.
Prune early-summer flowering shrubs, such as Philadelphus, once they have finished flowering. Cut back flowered growth to a strong lower shoot and thin out up to a fifth of old, woody stems.
Cut back hardy geraniums to ground level after they have had their first flush of flowers to encourage new foliage and more flowers later in the year. Fruit trees and bushes need a lot of extra water to support developing fruit. Pinch out climbing beans when they reach the top of their supports. Water courgettes consistently so they continue to crop well. Keep tomatoes well watered to prevent blossom end rot.
Regularly check for pests like aphids, spider mites and caterpillars. Consider using eco-friendly methods, and introducing beneficial insects like ladybirds. Keep bird baths topped up.
Now is the time to divide bearded irises, replant sections that have two or more fans on them. Keep watering plants, especially newly planted ones, young vegetables, containers and hanging baskets. Protect plants from slugs and snails.
Cut down oriental poppies to ground level after they have flowered, and they will send up new foliage. Check roses for signs of blackspot, aphids and leaf rolling sawfly damage. Cut down daffodil bulbs now as it has been at least 6 weeks since they flowered. Thin out or trim back Clematis Montana if it needs controlling. Trim evergreen hedges, but check for nesting birds first and wait until they have fledged. Keep dead heading summer bedding, early flowering perennials and repeat flowering roses to encourage more flowers.
Mow lawns regularly now, but think about leaving some areas long for wildlife and to encourage flowers to bloom. Reseed bare patches or lay turf. Tie in climbing and rambling roses, sweet peas and clematis as they climb. Summer bedding can be planted out towards the end of the month.
Check roses for blackspot, remove any infected leaves and treat with a fungicide. Sow hardy annuals and wildflowers in gaps in the garden. Feed borders with a general purpose fertiliser such as Growmore and mulch with compost or well rotted manure.
Plant summer bulbs such as alliums, eucomis and lillies. Cut back Penstemons now. Take a close look before pruning, some produce a mass of new shoots at the base of the plant, so old stems should be cut back close to the soil.
When new growth is visible only along the stems, trim them to 15-20cm from the ground, just above a shoot.
To encourage bushy growth on Marguerites, Pelargoniums and Fuchsias in the greenhouse, pinch out the tips. Spray weeds on driveways and paths this month when they are actively growing. Use a spring/summer feed on the lawn (it should be high in nitrogen to encourage strong leafy green swards) Carry on sowing vegetables directly into prepared soil including carrots, turnip, peas, broadbeans, spinach and lettuce. Sow tender courgettes, cucumbers and pumpkins in a heated propagator or sunny window sill.
Plant out autumn sown sweet peas.
Cut back herbaceous perennials and ornamental grasses that have been left over winter. Prune Buddleja to a low framework of stems to encourage new flowering growth. Split over crowded herbaceous perennials to keep them flowering well. Feed ericaceous shrubs such as rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias and pieris with an ericaceous fertilizer.
This is the last opportunity to carry out winter pruning on apple and pear trees. Cut autumn raspberry canes to ground level ensuring you leave no stumps that could harbour disease.
Prune out a quarter of blackcurrant older growth at ground level. Apply a general purpose fertiliser to tree, bush and cane fruit and mulch with well-rotted manure or garden compost.
[Read more…] about Wellie’s Gardening Tips for February 2025
Time to plan what you want to do to your garden over the coming year. Look at seed catalogues and order which seeds. Wash pots and seed trays so they are clean and ready for using in the coming year. Clean your greenhouse to let in more light over the winter months.
Cut back deciduous grasses to allow new shoots to emerge freely. Plant bare-rooted trees and shrubs now. Cut back foliage of helleborus to show off their beautiful flowers. Sow early peas such as ‘Feltham First’ for harvesting in May/June. Broad beans can be sown inside now, to plant out in February. [Read more…] about Wellie’s Gardening Tips for January 2025
I was sitting down to write my garden piece for December and for whatever reason it came into my head to try and find 12 plants that represent the song Twelve days of Christmas…..So hear goes.
On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me……
First Day – a partridge in a pear tree – Pyrus communis (pear tree) I know an easy first one!
[Read more…] about Wellie’s Gardening Tips for December 2024
Prune roses to prevent wind-rock and this is also the time to prune most deciduous trees, but a lot of deciduous ornamental grasses can be left until the spring. Prune grapevines after leaf fall, but before the end of December to avoid ‘bleeding’ of sap. Prune Acer (maple) species now as well to avoid them bleeding from the cut stems once the sap rises in the spring.
Now is the ideal time to plant bare rooted plants.
[Read more…] about Wellie’s Gardening Tips for November 2024
The temperatures are now dropping and the nights are drawing in, so it is important to get as many jobs done in the garden before it gets too cold. Wallflowers can be planted now. Continue planting spring flowering bulbs. Cut back herbaceous perennials that have died down.
Split and divide older clumps of overgrown perennials. Prune [Read more…] about Wellie’s Gardening Tips for October 2024
Lawns: sow new lawns or repair damaged patches. If sowing small areas, net to protect the seed from birds. Apply an Autumn weed and feed.
Fruit and Vegetables: Harvest apples now when they easily come off the tree when gently twisted. Sow winter salads such as lamb’s lettuce. Plant hardy onions eg Senshyu Yellow. Double your strawberry patch by pegging runners from the plants into pots filled with compost and keep them watered until they are rooted then cut them away from parent plant.
