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Gardener's Calendar

Month by month, find all the tasks to do in the garden, the vegetable patch and for your houseplants.

January February March April May June July August September October November December

🌱 January — Plan and Prepare

🥕 Vegetable Garden

  • Order seeds and plan spring sowings
  • Force endives and rhubarb under cloches
  • Sow under cover: lettuce, radishes, short carrots
  • Prepare crop rotation plans
  • Check the condition of stakes and tools

🌼 Ornamental Garden

  • Prune fruit trees and summer-flowering shrubs
  • Protect fragile plants from frost with horticultural fleece
  • Plant bare-root trees and shrubs
  • Clear remaining dead leaves from flower beds
  • Check winter protection on roses

🪴 Houseplants

  • Reduce watering, plants are dormant
  • Keep plants away from direct heat sources
  • Mist foliage to compensate for dry heating air
  • Check for pests (mealybugs, spider mites)
  • Clean dusty leaves with a damp sponge

🔧 General Maintenance

  • Sharpen and disinfect pruning tools
  • Check compost reserves and turn the pile
  • Protect outdoor taps from frost
  • Clean and tidy the greenhouse
  • Browse seed catalogues for the season

🌱 February — The First Sowings

🥕 Vegetable Garden

  • Sow under cover: tomatoes, aubergines, peppers, chillies
  • Plant garlic, shallots and onions in open ground
  • Prepare beds: aerate and amend the soil
  • Sow broad beans and peas in open ground
  • Set up first protections (cloches, tunnels)

🌼 Ornamental Garden

  • Prune bush roses and repeat-flowering climbers
  • Divide overgrown perennials (daylilies, asters)
  • Plant summer bulbs in pots (begonias, dahlias)
  • Sow first annuals under cover (petunias, carnations)
  • Clean ornamental grasses

🪴 Houseplants

  • Gradually resume watering
  • Repot plants that have outgrown their containers
  • Apply light fertiliser to plants showing new growth
  • Take cuttings from succulents and pothos
  • Rotate pots for even growth

🔧 General Maintenance

  • Compost the last pruning waste
  • Check the condition of fences and trellises
  • Prepare substrates for sowing
  • Install nest boxes to attract birds
  • Spread mature compost on beds

🌱 March — The Garden Awakens

🥕 Vegetable Garden

  • Sow in open ground: radishes, spinach, lettuce, carrots, turnips
  • Plant early potatoes
  • Continue indoor sowings: squash, courgettes, melons
  • Set up hoops and tunnels for outdoor sowings
  • Weed and hoe prepared beds

🌼 Ornamental Garden

  • Plant perennials, shrubs and roses
  • Divide perennial clumps (iris, peonies, hostas)
  • Trim hedges and summer-flowering shrubs
  • Sow annuals in a nursery bed (zinnias, cosmos, nasturtiums)
  • Mulch flower beds to limit weeds

🪴 Houseplants

  • Repot plants that have grown well
  • Increase watering as days get longer
  • Apply fertiliser every 2 weeks
  • Air-layer philodendrons and monsteras
  • Clean leaves and check for pests

🔧 General Maintenance

  • Scarify and aerate the lawn, reseed sparse areas
  • Install rainwater collectors
  • Clean the pond and restart the pump
  • Check the automatic watering system
  • Trim and maintain borders

🌱 April — Intensive Planting and Sowing

🥕 Vegetable Garden

  • Sow in open ground: beans, beetroot, chard, leeks
  • Plant maincrop potatoes
  • Transplant tomatoes, aubergines and peppers under cover
  • Install supports for peas
  • Thin out carrot and radish seedlings

🌼 Ornamental Garden

  • Plant summer bulbs: dahlias, gladioli, lilies
  • Plant out annuals in beds after the last frost
  • Prune forsythia and lilac after flowering
  • Sow lawns and repair damaged areas
  • Plant climbers: clematis, jasmine, wisteria

🪴 Houseplants

  • Gradually move plants outdoors (in shade)
  • Fertilise regularly every 2 weeks
  • Take cuttings from geraniums and fuchsias
  • Watch for aphids on plants moved outside
  • Repot orchids after flowering

🔧 General Maintenance

  • Mow the lawn regularly (height 5-7 cm)
  • Set up slug traps around young plants
  • Mulch beds and the vegetable patch to retain moisture
  • Install insect hotels for pollinators
  • Set up the drip irrigation system

🌱 May — After the Last Frosts

🥕 Vegetable Garden

  • Plant tomatoes, courgettes, cucumbers, squash after mid-May
  • Sow French beans, sweetcorn, pumpkins in open ground
  • Transplant autumn leeks
  • Earth up potatoes
  • Harvest the first lettuce, radishes and spinach

🌼 Ornamental Garden

  • Plant geraniums, petunias and impatiens in window boxes
  • Remove faded flowers from spring bulbs
  • Prune spring-flowering shrubs after blooming
  • Plant ornamental grasses
  • Add aquatic plants to the pond

🪴 Houseplants

  • Move houseplants outdoors to partial shade
  • Increase watering in warm weather
  • Divide and repot ferns
  • Trim trailing plants to encourage bushiness
  • Watch for mealybugs and treat if needed

🔧 General Maintenance

  • Mow and water the lawn as needed
  • Mulch generously with wood chips or straw
  • Install automatic watering systems
  • Treat vines and fruit trees preventively (Bordeaux mixture)
  • Encourage ladybirds against aphids

🌱 June — Harvests and Maintenance

🥕 Vegetable Garden

  • Harvest strawberries, cherries, peas, broad beans
  • Stake and tie tomatoes, remove side shoots
  • Sow beans successionally for staggered harvests
  • Mulch around tomato and courgette plants
  • Water in the evening at the base of plants

🌼 Ornamental Garden

  • Prune roses after the first flush of flowers
  • Take cuttings from shrubs: hydrangea, lavender, rosemary
  • Deadhead flowers to prolong blooming
  • Trim evergreen hedges
  • Water new plantings generously

🪴 Houseplants

  • Water more frequently in hot weather
  • Protect from direct sun behind windows
  • Fertilise every 2 weeks
  • Take cuttings from begonias and impatiens
  • Mist tropical plant foliage

🔧 General Maintenance

  • Water thoroughly and deeply
  • Weed regularly between crops
  • Top up mulch if needed
  • Treat for blight if weather is damp
  • Install shade covers over sensitive crops

🌱 July — Peak Harvest Season

🥕 Vegetable Garden

  • Harvest tomatoes, courgettes, beans, cucumbers
  • Sow autumn vegetables: turnips, chicory, lamb's lettuce
  • Earth up celery and leeks
  • Pinch out squash after 4-5 fruits have formed
  • Water with drip irrigation morning or evening

🌼 Ornamental Garden

  • Trim lavender after flowering
  • Layer carnations and clematis
  • Water containers and hanging baskets daily
  • Collect flower seeds for next year
  • Give hedges a second trim

🪴 Houseplants

  • Maintain consistent moisture, water regularly
  • Protect plants from scorching afternoon sun
  • Fertilise flowering plants
  • Take succulent cuttings
  • Mist ferns and calatheas daily

🔧 General Maintenance

  • Mow the lawn high (8 cm) in dry weather
  • Top up mulch wherever needed
  • Compost healthy harvest waste
  • Watch for diseases (blight, powdery mildew)
  • Pick up fallen fruit to prevent disease

🌱 August — Prepare for Autumn

🥕 Vegetable Garden

  • Sow winter vegetables: spinach, lamb's lettuce, rocket
  • Harvest garlic, onions, shallots and dry them
  • Continue harvesting tomatoes and making preserves
  • Sow green manures on cleared beds
  • Prepare preserves and jars

🌼 Ornamental Garden

  • Order spring bulbs (tulips, daffodils, crocuses)
  • Take cuttings from hydrangeas, lavender and rosemary
  • Prune repeat-flowering roses for a second bloom
  • Collect seeds from cosmos, marigolds, sunflowers
  • Water young plantings regularly

🪴 Houseplants

  • Prepare for gradually bringing plants back indoors
  • Check for pests before bringing plants inside
  • Gradually reduce fertiliser
  • Repot plants that need it before autumn
  • Take geranium cuttings for next year

🔧 General Maintenance

  • Water generously during heatwaves
  • Don't mow the lawn too short in summer
  • Turn the compost and keep it moist
  • Clean and disinfect empty pots
  • Plan autumn plantings

🌱 September — Autumn Settles In

🥕 Vegetable Garden

  • Harvest squash, pumpkins, and winter squash
  • Sow winter salads, spinach, lamb's lettuce
  • Plant strawberry runners for next year
  • Pull out tomato plants at month's end
  • Sow green manures (mustard, phacelia, clover)

🌼 Ornamental Garden

  • Plant spring bulbs (tulips, daffodils, crocuses)
  • Divide perennials: iris, peonies, hostas, daylilies
  • Plant spring-flowering shrubs
  • Sow biennials: pansies, forget-me-nots, wallflowers
  • Collect fallen leaves for compost

🪴 Houseplants

  • Bring houseplants inside before first cool spells
  • Reduce watering gradually
  • Stop fertilising most plants
  • Clean leaves with lukewarm water
  • Check and treat pests before overwintering

🔧 General Maintenance

  • Scarify and overseed the lawn
  • Begin the big autumn cleanup
  • Prepare winter protections
  • Drain and store the watering system
  • Review the season and note successes and failures

🌱 October — Planting for Spring

🥕 Vegetable Garden

  • Plant autumn garlic and white onions
  • Harvest the last squash and store them dry
  • Protect lettuces with cloches or fleece
  • Clear and compost crop remains
  • Dig or fork over empty beds

🌼 Ornamental Garden

  • Plant deciduous trees and shrubs
  • Continue planting spring bulbs
  • Lift and store summer bulbs (dahlias, gladioli)
  • Plant chrysanthemums and autumn heathers
  • Collect fallen leaves for mulch or compost

🪴 Houseplants

  • Adjust watering for reduced light levels
  • Move plants closer to windows
  • Stop fertilising until spring
  • Group plants to create a humid microclimate
  • Check plants are not in draughts

🔧 General Maintenance

  • Last lawn mowing of the season
  • Clean and store garden tools
  • Empty and turn over terracotta pots (frost risk)
  • Protect outdoor pipes from frost
  • Install nest boxes before winter

🌱 November — Protect and Prepare for Winter

🥕 Vegetable Garden

  • Harvest the last vegetables: leeks, cabbages, carrots
  • Mulch beds to protect soil from frost
  • Plant bare-root fruit trees
  • Force chicory in a dark cellar
  • Collect and compost remaining plant waste

🌼 Ornamental Garden

  • Plant bare-root roses
  • Protect tender plants with horticultural fleece
  • Mulch generously around sensitive shrubs
  • Last chance to plant spring bulbs
  • Cut back faded perennials to 10 cm

🪴 Houseplants

  • Reduce watering significantly
  • Keep plants away from cold windows
  • Maintain good light (grow lights if needed)
  • Monitor humidity levels (heating dries the air)
  • Avoid moving plants unnecessarily

🔧 General Maintenance

  • Clean and oil all garden tools
  • Drain the mower and store for winter
  • Cover the pond with a leaf net
  • Check stakes and ties
  • Start planning next year's garden

🌱 December — The Gardener's Rest

🥕 Vegetable Garden

  • Harvest winter vegetables under protection (lamb's lettuce, spinach)
  • Check frost protections
  • Order seeds for next season
  • Consult the sowing calendar to plan ahead
  • Inventory remaining seeds and test germination rates

🌼 Ornamental Garden

  • Protect roses by earthing up
  • Shake snow off evergreen branches
  • Check horticultural fleece
  • Plant fruit trees if the ground isn't frozen
  • Browse catalogues and dream of spring

🪴 Houseplants

  • Water sparingly, let soil dry between waterings
  • Maintain air humidity (water trays, misting)
  • Give or treat yourself to new plants for Christmas
  • Care for festive poinsettias and amaryllis
  • Make the most of winter light for orchids

🔧 General Maintenance

  • Rest and read gardening books
  • Draw up the garden plan for next year
  • Give gardening accessories as holiday gifts
  • Clean and maintain tools one last time
  • Check the compost and turn it if possible