Garden jobs month by month
Garden jobs in July
In 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. Pick berries, cherries and the first vegetables, and refresh a shallow water dish for birds, hedgehogs and insects every few days.
Updated for 2027
What to do in the garden in July
In July the trees are in full leaf. A good month to prune ‘bleeders’ such as birch, maple and walnut, and for the summer pruning of fruit trees.
- Prune bleeders (birch, maple, walnut) now: they lose much less sap at this time of year.
- Summer pruning of apple and pear: shorten the long new shoots.
- Trim lavender after flowering.
- Water young trees in dry spells: a good soak once a week is better than a little every day.
- Prune climbing hydrangea and wisteria after flowering.
What to prune in July?
84 trees and hedges from the guide. When and how for each plant in its pruning guide:
- Beech
- Hornbeam
- Hawthorn
- Field maple
- Apple tree
- Pear tree
- Plum tree
- Cherry tree
- Redcurrant
- Wisteria
- Leyland cypress
- Grapevine
Nesting season (mid-March to mid-August): don’t prune hedges and shrubs hard, and check for nests first.
Pruning calendar for JulyWhat to sow and plant
- Sow indoors
- Chinese cabbage
- Sow outdoors
- carrot, Chinese cabbage, columbine, coriander, dill, Dwarf French bean, endive, florence fennel and 13 more
- Planting out and planting
- broccoli, cauliflower, Chinese cabbage, endive, florence fennel, kale, leek, lettuce and 1 more
- Harvest from the vegetable garden
- aubergine, basil, beetroot, broad bean, broccoli, carrot, cauliflower, chervil and 34 more
What to harvest
From trees, shrubs and garden plants:
- Plum fruit
- Wild cherry fruit
- Sour cherry fruit
- Raspberry leaves, fruit
- Bramble fruit
- Redcurrant berries
- Gooseberry berries
- Blackcurrant leaves, berries
- Highbush blueberry berries
- Apricot fruit
- Walnut fruit, leaves
- Small-leaved lime blossom
and 111 more
Recipes
- Plum jam Plum
- Cherry jam Wild cherry
- Sour cherries in syrup Sour cherry
- Raspberry jam Raspberry
- Blackberry jelly Bramble
- Redcurrant jelly Redcurrant
What’s flowering for bees?
Trees and shrubs with nectar or pollen for bees and bumblebees:
- Indian bean tree
- Small-leaved lime
- Sweet chestnut
- Garden privet
- Butterfly bush
- Wild privet
- Raspberry
- Bramble
- Alder buckthorn
- Spiraea
- Snowberry
- Japanese rose
and 7 more
All speciesNature in July
- In dry spells birds, hedgehogs and insects need water: put out a shallow dish with a stone in it, and never give hedgehogs milk.
- Butterflies and bumblebees feed on buddleja, lavender and oregano.
- Blackbirds sometimes nest a second or third time: still take care when trimming.
What you can see now
- Buddleia attracts peacock and red admiral butterflies.
- Blackberries and raspberries ripen.
- Small-leaved lime flowers, a few weeks after large-leaved lime.
Challenges of the season
All challenges- Discover 10 speciesSave 10 different trees or plants in your guide.
- Put out a water dishPut out a shallow dish of water with a stone in it, for birds, hedgehogs and insects. Refresh it every few days.
- Harvest 5 cropsMark the harvest of 5 different crops in your vegetable garden.
Wildlife garden in July
All wildlife garden guidesRead more
All articles- Pruning fruit trees: apple, pear, cherry and plumPrune apples and pears in winter, cherries and plums in summer. How to prune a young fruit tree and an old one, and how to avoid silver leaf and gummosis.
- When should you cut your hedge? The nesting season and the best timesMost hedges are trimmed twice a year, at the end of June and the end of August. How to take nesting birds into account, and when to trim each type of hedge.
Coming up
Garden jobs in September
Each monthly page is online six to eight weeks ahead, so you can plan in time.