Season
Garden jobs month by month
What to do in the garden each month: pruning, sowing and planting, harvesting, and what you can do for bees, birds and hedgehogs. Updated every year.
This month
Garden jobs in October
In October you plant trees, hedges and shrubs, leave fallen leaves under shrubs for hedgehogs and insects, and prune very little: the main winter pruning only starts in November. Pick the last apples, pears and quinces, and move frost-tender pot plants to shelter.
Go to October Coming up: garden jobs in December
- JanuaryIn January you prune apple and pear trees on frost-free days, plant bare-root trees and hedges while the ground is not frozen, and give the birds food and fresh water.
- FebruaryIn February you finish the winter pruning of apples and pears, prune grapevines and kiwis before the sap starts to rise, and still plant bare-root trees and hedges.
- MarchIn March you prune summer-flowering shrubs such as buddleja and shrub roses, cut back ornamental grasses and last year’s stems, and sow the first vegetables indoors.
- AprilIn April you sow vegetables and flowers outdoors, prune spring-flowering shrubs such as forsythia straight after flowering, and water newly planted trees in dry weather.
- MayIn May you plant out vegetables once the risk of frost has passed in mid-May, prune lilac and other spring-flowering shrubs after flowering, and let the lawn grow for No Mow May.
- JuneIn June you trim the hedge for the first time once the first flush of growth is over and no birds are nesting in it any more, prune cherries and plums after picking, and thin out apples and pears.
- JulyIn July you prune bleeders such as birch, maple and walnut, give apples and pears their summer pruning, and water young trees thoroughly once a week in dry spells.
- AugustIn August you trim the hedge a second time, prune plums and cherries after picking, and at the end of the month plant evergreen hedges such as yew and holly.
- SeptemberIn September you pick apples, pears and nuts, plant evergreen hedges and shrubs, and give the hedge its last trim before mid-September.
- This monthOctoberIn October you plant trees, hedges and shrubs, leave fallen leaves under shrubs for hedgehogs and insects, and prune very little: the main winter pruning only starts in November.
- NovemberIn November you plant bare-root trees, hedges and fruit trees, start the winter pruning of apples and pears on frost-free days, and mulch young trees with fallen leaves.
- Coming upDecemberIn December you prune fruit trees and other trees on frost-free days, still plant trees and hedges while the ground is not frozen, and give the birds food and water.
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