Monthly Gardening Plans

This article is intended to make gardening easier and more fun. Planning and organization are required to appreciate your garden at all times of the year entirely. To relax and appreciate your garden without it being a job, you must know the significant duties and when they must be completed.

The site is structured into twelve primary parts, one for each month of the year. Flowers, trees, bushes, lawns, vegetables, and fruits are covered in detail. There are additional sections on routine jobs to be completed during the year.

Each month we will highlight plants that are in bloom. The collection comprises deciduous and evergreen shrubs, bulbs, annuals, perennials, miniature trees, and climbers suited for the season. Included are plants with attractive blooms, fruit, leaves, or stems.

Adding a few plants from each section will provide year-round interest, even in the dead of winter. Notably, Irish weather is constantly unpredictable. Depending on your location and climate, your garden's plants may blossom earlier or later. These variations frequently cause issues when planning garden plants and chores.

What to Plant in May?

In May, lilacs, rhododendrons, and azaleas should be blooming.

Because nighttime temperatures can still be low, don't plant out half-hardy bedding plants and vegetables too soon, and harden them off properly before planting. The longer hours make gardening enjoyable, and the first food crops will be available.

Watch your plants' demands when the weather warms and dries. Keep watering seedlings and feeding existing plants. Keep an eye out for aphid infestations and spray as needed.

Weeds will quickly exploit the warm weather: plant fresh flower and vegetable seedlings and hoe between rows in seedbeds. Perennials, annuals, and bedding plants will cover most weeds once they mature.

Also, keep an eye on your tubs and pots, which will soon form an outside flowering show as the summer approaches.

Potted lilies can be brought out into the garden at the end of the month. Keep them moist and in a sunny area.

What to do in the Garden June

Summer arrives in mid-June, with warmer days and a floral fragrance. Salad crops and strawberries are abundant this month. The long, pleasant days and beautiful evenings of June allow for more leisure and enjoyment in the garden.

June is the month of the rose, but many other shrubs, flowers, and plants will shine

But weeds will need frequent hoeing and eradication this month, especially around the vegetable garden, flower beds, fruit shrubs and shrubbery. Water newly planted, young, thirsty plants like salad greens, tomatoes, and dahlias.

On sunny days, keep the greenhouse properly aired and apply shade paint or screens if not previously done. Water the greenhouse ground/path periodically to keep it wet.

June is the best time to take many different sorts of cuttings, which is a fun and easy job that results in numerous new flowers, plants, and shrubs for free.

Pests, insects, and birds will be after ripening fruit and succulent, new growth in both the vegetable and decorative gardens this month, so be prepared to outwit them.

House Plant Care

The summer months are ideal for many indoor plants. In late June, move them outside where the sun and heat will promote great growth and blossoming. It also allows you to clean and repot any plants that need it. Because they aren't used to the outside, keep them warm and dry. Sensitive plants like aspidistra, begonias, azaleas, and ferns will require shelter from direct sunshine, so a moderately shaded site is best.

Remember that potted plants can dry out rapidly, so set them on big gravel trays or partially bury them in the borders to avoid this. Remember to spritz your indoor or outdoor plants with lukewarm water to keep red spider mites at bay.

What to Do in the Garden in July

Now that the weather is becoming warmer, most garden chores will be enjoyable, including disbudding roses, dahlias, fuchsias, straightening up herbaceous borders, and watering. In July, picking your own fresh fruit and vegetables, such luscious strawberries, raspberries, and currants, is the most enjoyable chore.

If the weather is hot and dry, water regularly and thoroughly. If you have water constraints or don't have time to water, give precedence to seedlings, young plants, hanging baskets, containers, and plants against walls. Plants in window boxes and pots often stay dry even after a heavy storm. Hanging baskets may require daily watering in dry weather, or twice daily in hot weather.

If you have a greenhouse, frequent watering is essential since the plants within require artificial irrigation. Water the floor and staging to keep the greenhouse wet and cool.

Mulching can be done in conjunction with watering to maximize plant benefit. These treatments will benefit fruit and ornamental trees, flowers, veggies, lawns, and lawns. Mulching also provides nutrients to the soil and subsequently the plants in the form of slowly decaying organic debris.

A regular supply of readily available nourishment, either as a powder to be watered in or directly as a liquid, is required now for mature plants, whether planted for flowers or harvest.

Propagation by cuttings and layering can be done anytime in July. Sowing seeds later in the month can also be started now.

Keep an eye out for pests and illnesses in the garden so they can be treated quickly. Mildew thrives in hot, dry climates, and red spider mites are a nuisance.

Plan your fall bulb plantings as well.

Garden Waste Compost

Grass clippings, leafy garden trash, veggies, and wasted plants can all be composted. Adding an unique compost activator to the source material every 15 cm (6 in) or so speeds up the composting process. Never add dirt layers to compost piles as instructed. In the pile, they form cold layers, which disrupt the microbial activity that breaks down organic waste.

Due to the mild weather, compost started now is usually ready for use by autumn. Turning the heap can help aerate the contents and speed up the process. Not too dry or too wet.

August Gardening Ideas

August is the most popular vacation month, leaving the garden to fend for itself. If you are going away, make sure to water any seedlings, young plants, hanging baskets, and tubs before you go, or you may return to a dismal garden. Put your garden in the shade and/or soak sensitive plants in water or on capillary matting.

Moisturizing, cleaning up, and mowing are routine summer duties, so you should have less to do in the garden now and more time to enjoy it. Because most plants have established themselves and respond to the reduced light and chilly evenings of late summer, many pests, illnesses, and weeds will have slowed. However, earwigs, mildew, and wasps may still be a problem.

Whitefly red spider mite and grey mould will be active in the greenhouse, so be prepared with insecticides and fungicides. Keeping the greenhouse adequately ventilated and humid will assist.

Produce harvesting will be the main emphasis this month. Flowers can be cut now for bouquets or dried throughout the winter.

If weeding has kept you busier than you planned, and you want to reduce your workload, consider planting ground cover. There are now many attractive yet low-maintenance plants that will swiftly mat up and give years of the trouble-free surface. Perennials, shrubs, climbers, ferns, and even decorative grasses are examples of these. Choose slow-growing plants and thick enough to keep weeds out even while dormant.

Finally, with fall approaching, August is a beautiful time to sow spring bulbs for an excellent show next spring.

September Gardening Ideas

September is the month to tidy up the garden, removing old plants and flowers to make place for new ones. In damp conditions, cleared terrain can rapidly become weedy, which should be removed immediately. In dry conditions, irrigation replaces weeding.

Canna Lily

September is the best month to harvest seeds, complete semi-ripe cuttings for next year, and prepare the food garden for winter. The garden will take on an autumnal hue as harvest approaches. The trees' leaves will turn scarlet and gold, accompanied by a dazzling display of berries and summer flowers.

The weather will dictate how much work you need to undertake in September. Some Septembers are pleasant, like an extended summer, while others are frigid, with icy evenings.

Keep an eye on the weather prediction and protect fragile plants against frost. Cover sensitive veggies with cloches or fleece, harvest others, bring in half-hardy and tender perennials, and cover any established but susceptible plants left in the ground.

How to Garden in October

October is one of the most spectacular and beautiful months with golden, copper, and deep crimson foliage. The sun's beams are weakening, and the days are getting shorter, both signals that winter is coming.

Less garden work means more time to plan and order seeds, plants, and shrubs for next year's garden. The principal garden duty is to clean up leaves from lawns, walkways, patios, and ponds. Especially watch for plants in the rock garden and seedling beds where falling leaves can suffocate and destroy plants. Leaves can be let to decay in herbaceous and mixed borders to release nutrients and protect from frost. Inversely, decaying leaves provide ideal winter habitat for snails, slugs, and woodlice.

While quick-acting fertilizers were used often in the spring and early summer, slow-acting fertilizers are used now. Bonemeal, which gives essential phosphates for next spring's growing season, benefits fruit trees, bushes, perennial beds, shrubs, and bulbs. Soil nutrient release is gradual with well-rotted organic matter mulching.

Purchase new plants from specialist nurseries or garden stores or create more from hardwood cuttings in October. If you wish to add extra plants in the autumn, prepare the ground for planting early in the month so the new plants may be placed before winter arrives.

If you are overwintering plants in a greenhouse, clean it first. After sweeping away dead flowers and other plant detritus from the staging and flooring, wipe everything down with diluted mild disinfectant. Now is the time to lift any remaining sensitive plants and bring them inside or cover them with cloches. Install temporary insulation as 'double glazing' to save heating bills. Most DIY and garden outlets provide special insulating material rolls that allow in light but not cold. You may need to heat the greenhouse even with insulation on frosty nights.

Gardening in November

Late autumn brings short, chilly days and long, frosty nights in the garden. November is a cloudy, damp, and cold month due to the drop in temperatures and light levels. Most plants are dormant now and require minimal care.

Few jobs remain, such as raking leaves and digging over the earth for spring planting whenever the weather permits. Check tree and shrub stakes, ties, and supports.

The planting season for bare-rooted and container-grown deciduous trees and shrubs is late November (both ornamental and fruiting). Planting time varies on delivery and ground quality. Sow bare-rooted plants in containers if the ground is frozen or soggy.

The greenhouse air is likely to be damp and chilly, conducive to numerous nasty fungal illnesses. Ventilation is still required, but it must be balanced against draughts and frosts. If you have a heated greenhouse, you will need to heat it more and more each month. Commercial growers use artificial lighting, but you may make efforts to guarantee that whatever sunlight is available reaches your plants. Clean the glass or plastic and the roof of leaves.

Compost Heap Refill

All discarded plants should be composted to restore nutrients to the soil and benefit future gardens. Mowings, vegetable tops, decorative plant leftovers, and prunings are all acceptable soft vegetation (if shredded).

Leaves should be composted separately since they take longer to decompose but provide great leaf mould, a valuable horticultural product. So excellent that it's worth collecting leaves from outside the garden (where permitted).

Gardening in December

Seasonal gardeners relax by the fireplace, perusing seed catalogues and gardening manuals, planning the upcoming season. Nevertheless, neglecting the garden throughout the winter might result in plant loss due to severe frost and winter gales or rotting leaves and debris smothering.

Take advantage of warm weather to inspect and safeguard plants, especially around the holidays. Continue winter gardening work, including digging and snow removal from evergreens.

Check for fallen leaves in gutters and drains. Leave some high-calorie treats for the birds, such as fat balls, out for them to eat.

Tree bird feeder

In December, the greenhouse can stagnate, and the cold air can rapidly lead to fungal illnesses. Therefore it is best to ventilate as the weather permits.

Remember to order seed catalogues early in December so you may go through them over the holidays.

Restoring Bad Soil

Improving garden soil should be done immediately. Garden soil is a complex combination of rock, organic matter, water, air, and nutrients. Soils include chalky, peaty, sandy, clay, and loam. Soil can also be acidic or alkaline. They all impact the plants that will survive and grow in your garden. However, any soil type may be enhanced by following these steps:

Limey (alkaline) soils:

Iron and other trace elements can get 'locked' in limey (alkaline) soils. Compost without lime and sulphur blooms or sequestrate (iron chelate) can assist. You may grow acid-loving plants like rhododendrons and azaleas in tubs and pots or create a raised bed and fill it with lime-free compost.

 Peaty (acidic) soils:

Acid soil can be turned alkaline by adding hydrated lime, chalk, or limestone dressing. Use 225 g per sq m (8 ounces per sq yard) for sandy soils, double for heavier soils.

Clay soils: help

Clay soil is heavy and difficult to dig over in any season, especially in the summer when it can dry up and become sticky and soggy. Because it stores water, it is frigid in the early spring. But it may be nutrition dense. Clay soils should be dug over in the winter to allow frost to break down clods. Dig in as much organic matter as you can - two buckets per sq m (sq yard) - and wait a month before adding lime.

Sand soil improvement

Sand does not hold water; therefore, nutrients rapidly wash away. Organic substance improves it significantly. It not only feeds the plants but also retains moisture. Sandy soil is frequently acidic and needs lime as well as organic materials.

Making chalky soils better

Chalk-based soils are often light, shallow, and very alkaline. Regular applications of sulphur or sequestrate flowers will boost acidity. You may also grow lime-loving plants. Traditional organic matter treatments will also allow for a larger variety of plants.

Garden Tool Care

Cleaning and maintaining garden tools is best done in December when they are less commonly used. Repair, lubricate, and sharpen pruning knives and secateurs. Sharpening and cleaning spades and hoes Straighten fork and rake tines.