There is a lot to do in the garden all year round. This will tell you what gardening work to do in which month. Then nothing is forgotten and nothing stands in the way of a well-tended garden!
Gardening through the year
This provides detailed advice on when to do certain gardening tasks during the year. However, do not be too slavish when it comes to implementation, because the actual weather conditions at your location have the greatest influence on when certain activities can be carried out – or when it is better to wait with them. Planting out too early, for example, does not make sense if it is still frosty outside and your plants have no chance of survival – not even if the calendar shows the first day of spring. Let yourself be guided by the weather conditions on site and see this garden calendar only as suggestions, then you have the best chance of success.
Gardening in spring
In the spring the days get longer again, the temperatures rise and the garden awakens to new life: the trees show new leaves and shoots and flower bulbs hidden in the ground bring out a lively blaze of color after the gray winter. Gardeners now have a lot to do because it has to be sown and planted, cut and fertilized. But be careful: Don’t be fooled by the early onset of spring, because in these changeable months, Father Frost can report back again. Even if the weather seems friendly enough for planting, it is best to keep paying attention to the forecasts – a sudden late frost can destroy young plants in one fell swoop.
March
The garden year begins in March. Start the new season by first tidying up the garden and tidying it up after the winter:
- Cut back withered and dead plant parts.
- Rake the beds and borders vigorously.
- Remove any fallen leaves or mulch
- Cut back plants such as roses and other flowering plants.
- Perennials are also cut back vigorously.
- Fruit trees can now also be cut.
- Chop up the clippings and compost them.
- Check your garden plants for diseases and pests.
- Treat them if necessary.
- Replace damaged planters.
The perfect time to cut a rose is traditionally the forsythia flower. Summer bloomers such as clematis, hydrangeas or lavender can now also be pruned. Pay more attention to diseases, as the plants weakened by the winter are now particularly vulnerable. Remove infected parts of the plant and dispose of them with household waste.
If you haven’t done it yet, you can now prune your fruit trees. Only peaches and sweet cherries are pruned in the summer after the harvest. Prepare everything for the coming harvest by preferring frost-sensitive vegetables like tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers on the windowsill. On the other hand, more robust plants such as early radishes, kohlrabi or radishes can be placed directly in the cold frame, which you sow or put in the ground as pre-grown plants.
Annual summer flowers such as sweet peas or snapdragons can also be brought forward now and then planted as young plants in the bed from April. The sooner you can enjoy the pretty flowers.
Berry bushes such as gooseberries can now be planted, and the strawberry patch must be prepared for the new season. Remove withered and dead plant parts (preferably with sharp scissors!), Weed, loosen the soil and work in some composted manure as fertilizer. Alternatively, you can also use berry fertilizer (€ 4.82 at Amazon *).
The lawn is happy about this maintenance work in March:
- Rake and re-seed over bald or expired spots.
- Lime if necessary.
- Weed weeds, fertilize the lawn and apply moss killers if necessary.
- Once the grass begins to grow on established lawns, it is time to mow.
April
In April the preparatory work is done, now the gardening really starts . Fertilize all garden plants that need it – this applies above all to perennial shrubs and perennials, but also to bulb flowers and vegetable plants. The plants need a fresh supply of nutrients, as this is when they have the greatest growth spurt and accordingly need energy and nutrients. Plants that are malnourished in spring will only develop poor growth, as well as insufficient flowers and few fruits.
Sufficient watering is also important now, especially if it rains little in April. But there can be many a hot day that puts the plants under stress. It is best to water early in the morning, which is especially important in gardens that are increasingly threatened by snails – you should definitely not water here in the evening, as this only attracts the animals.
In addition, vegetables that are not sensitive to frost can be sown directly into the bed from April. Make sure, however, not to plant all the seeds at the same time, but to place them in the soil at different times. After all, you will not harvest the vegetables all at once (and will be flooded), but gradually. Even robust perennials can now be planted and summer flowers (provided they are not sensitive to frost) can be sown. In any case, work in compost beforehand so that the plants have sufficient nutrients available.
If you haven’t done it in March, you should have your lawn now at the latest:
- Lime and fertilize (of course time-shifted)
- Scarify and remove felt and dead material
- Re-sow bald spots
May
In May you can look forward to the first harvest – provided, of course, that you have sown and planted accordingly early. Radishes, spring onions, spinach, lettuce and Swiss chard can already be harvested. Kohlrabi and radish are also ready sooner. May is also the month of wild garlic: Do you have the aromatic herb in your garden? If not, then it is high time to cultivate it!
In May it also gets exciting again in terms of weather, because the ice saints often cause another cold snap in the middle of the month. If this is over, however, you can now bring cold-sensitive plants outside. This not only applies to potted plants such as bougainvillea, oleander, geraniums and Co., but also many popular vegetables such as tomatoes and peppers. Beans, courgettes and cucumbers are also quite sensitive and are only allowed outside now. The same applies to many herbs that you have optimally preferred and that are now being added to the bed.
However, even after the ice saints, make sure to give sensitive plants protection from the cold and cover them with a fleece, for example.
Otherwise you now have the same maintenance tasks as in April:
- Fertilize (if not already done)
- Ensure an adequate water supply
- Weeding and preventing weeds (e.g. by mulching)
- Loosen the soil in the beds
It is also important to carefully search the garden plants for aphids. These pests spread in the garden quite early in the year, which is why early control makes sense – the less you have to worry about a real pest later. Snails are also to be collected regularly and the beds are to be protected from the voracious animals by suitable measures.
Gardening in summer
As the temperature rises, the economical use of water and the necessary irrigation of all plants become the main concern of the gardener. Think about how your plants will survive your upcoming vacation. For example, place potted plants in the shade and, if possible, arrange mutual garden maintenance with a gardening friend.
June
There is still a lot to do in the garden in June:
- For many plants the second fertilization is due (organic or slow-release fertilizer)
- Watering plants
- Mow the lawn once a week
- Harvest sweet cherries and then cut back the tree
- Sow annual and biennial flowers
- Quickly create a herb bed (if not done yet)
- Divide plants if necessary
In addition, June is the high season for many pests such as scale insects, gall mites , black weevils, whiteflies and the dreaded box tree moth and fungal diseases. Check your plants regularly for signs of this and take countermeasures in good time. Lure useful insects such as ladybugs or lacewings into the garden by setting up an insect hotel (€ 7.93 on Amazon *). Keep collecting snails regularly.
When is the right time to cut cuttings?
In addition, June is the perfect time to cut cuttings – at least if the plants are to be propagated from soft or semi-woody cuttings. Cut the pieces of wood and put them in nutrient-poor potting soil . In the following year, the resulting plants can finally go outside.
July
In July, one thing is especially important: pour, pour and pour again. Preferably water your plants early in the morning and be sure to put the water directly on the soil. The leaves and flowers of the plants should not get wet if possible! Otherwise there is a risk of fungal diseases. In addition, do not water daily in small doses, but rather vigorously every few days – this is the only way that plants develop deep roots and are less sensitive to drought.
August
The most important work in August continues to be the sufficient supply of the plants with water as well as regular weeding and mowing of the lawn. In addition, August is the month when you can harvest plenty of vegetables – so you have your hands full to finally reap the fruits of your labor.
The harvested beets can sow either with winter vegetables such as lettuce or short-term crops such as lettuce and radishes or replant or – if further use is not desired – with green manure crops sow. Various types of clover are particularly suitable for this , as they not only provide insects with plenty of food in autumn, but also collect nitrogen in their roots and thus enrich the soil. Winter rye or phacelia are also very suitable for unused vegetable beds.
If possible, fertilization is no longer carried out or with a fertilizer with a high concentration of potassium by mid-August at the latest. This should especially harden the sensitive shoots of the roses in good time before winter. This way the flowers survive the cold season better. In addition, now is the right time to cut back the “queen of flowers” and thus prevent fungal diseases. With the so-called summer pruning, you mainly remove diseased parts of the plant and withered flowers.
Gardening in the fall
Even if the days are getting shorter and the plants in the garden gradually dwindling, autumn is in many ways a beginning and not the end of the gardening year. Planting bulbs, roses and woody plants is a forward-looking job at a time when most gardening activities revolve around cleaning up and removing dead or rotting plants.
September
Cucumbers, zucchini, beans, salads, potatoes, leafy, root and tuber vegetables as well as numerous cabbage vegetables: you can still harvest plentifully in the garden in September. Make sure that the vegetables – with the exception of some types such as Brussels sprouts, which do not mind the cold – are stored or otherwise preserved or processed in good time before the first frost. The last tomatoes – even if they are still green – can also be harvested seriously and ripened in a fruit bowl embroidered with apples.
Think about the next gardening year and collect vegetable and flower seeds, which are best, kept in small paper bags in an airy and dry place. Only cold germinating plants now need to be applied, as they need a cold stimulus to germinate: day lily, phlox , torch lily , monkshood or lady’s mantle have to go into the bed as early as autumn. Incidentally, this also applies to most early-blooming bulb flowers such as tulips, crocuses and daffodils. You should put these in the bed in October at the latest.
Perennial garden perennials like delphinium, margarite and lupine are best propagated now by dividing them; many trees also can be crop from the top of September. The lawn continues to be mowed.
October
In October you’ll harvest the last of the vegetables and late fruits like quinces. Additionally, you ought to now catch abreast of the work which will are left behind in September:
- Dig up harvested beds
- Sow manure
- Plant bulbs
- Plant trees
- Bring potted plants to winter quarters
- Mulching beds and borders
Furthermore, it’s now important to get rid of leaves regularly. This is often particularly important on lawns, as rot can develop under the thick layer of leaves. However, you are doing not need to eliminate the foliage; you’ll make valuable foliage humus out of it. Simply put the leaves on top of the compost, either alone or with other garden waste.
Now is also the proper time to chop back dead perennial plants and grasses and to compile the roses.
November
Even in November you ought to still clear off leaves in order that the plants underneath don’t suffocate. Finally, make the garden ready for winter by pulling weeds one last time then at the newest by now distributing compost and mulch within the beds and protecting sensitive plants from the cold. it’s best to overwinter container plants during a cool winter quarters without frost.
In November you’ll also plant many fruit trees and bushes and crop existing fruit trees. You ought to also put rings of glue round the trunks to stop insect pests from overwintering. This measure shouldn’t be neglected, especially with apple trees.
Gardening in winter
Protection is that the main concern of the gardener in winter. Frost, snowfall, storms and hail pose a threat to the plants within the garden. Confirm that they’re adequately protected. You’ll also use the time to plan for subsequent year.
