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The Fernwood Almanac

A gardening year in the Marches

What is in flower, what to do about it, and what is on the benches here, month by month. Written for gardens within about half an hour of Ludlow: we are four hundred feet up, the last frost is usually the middle of May, and the back of a seed packet is written for somewhere warmer.

  1. Januarywinter · 6 in flower · 7 jobsThe quietest month in the garden and the busiest on paper. Prune while you can see the shape of things, and get the bare-root order in before the good stock goes.
  2. Februarywinter · 6 in flower · 8 jobsThe month the year turns. Snowdrops go in green, the pruning window on wisteria and dogwood closes, and the first seed can be sown under cover.
  3. Marchspring · 6 in flower · 9 jobsEverything happens at once and the soil is finally warm enough to work. Mulch before the border fills up and you cannot get in there.
  4. Aprilspring · 6 in flower · 8 jobsThe month everyone plants too early. Sow hard, pot on, and keep the fleece where you can reach it in the dark.
  5. Mayspring · 6 in flower · 6 jobsThe best fortnight of the year, and the frost date at last. Plant out after the middle of the month, and cut half your border down on purpose.
  6. Junesummer · 6 in flower · 7 jobsRoses, and the first month where the job is keeping things going rather than getting them started. Deadhead, water properly, and take cuttings while the wood is soft.
  7. Julysummer · 6 in flower · 7 jobsHot, dry, and the month the watering can decides how August looks. Prune wisteria for the second time and trim lavender the day the flowers fade.
  8. Augustsummer · 6 in flower · 7 jobsThe month everyone writes off. It is the best sowing window of the year for anything you want to eat in October, and daffodils want to go in now.
  9. Septemberautumn · 6 in flower · 7 jobsWarm soil, cool air and rain again: the best planting month of the whole year. Everything you put in now roots before winter and starts a season ahead.
  10. OctoberThis month · 6 in flower · 7 jobsColour, then the first frost. Tulips go in from the end of the month, dahlias come up after it, and bare-root season opens.
  11. Novemberautumn · 6 in flower · 9 jobsBare-root season proper, and the cheapest month of the year to plant a hedge. Everything tender comes under glass, and the tools get cleaned.
  12. Decemberwinter · 6 in flower · 7 jobsFoliage, wreaths and the birds. Very little needs doing outside, which makes it the right month to plan next year properly.