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Calendar · Teddington TW11

Garden Maintenance Calendar

The right job at the right time — a year of garden care set out month by month. Print it, pin it up, or let us run the schedule for you.

Maintenance Calendar
Twelve-month schedule · London & the South-East

The right job at the right time. A year of garden care, set out month by month — the best month for each task in deep green, the months that also suit it in pale, and the times to hold off.

Peak · best month Suitable · also fine Avoid · harmful now Not normally done
Operation JanNOWFebNOWMarNOWAprNOWMayNOWJunNOWJulNOWAugNOWSepNOWOctNOWNovNOWDecNOW
Lawn care
Regular mowing
Lawn edging
Scarification · de-thatch / moss rake
Aeration · spike / hollow-tine
Top dressing
Overseeding / repair
Spring–summer feed · high nitrogen
Autumn feed · high potash / phosphorus
Lawn weed control
Moss control
Pruning, hedges & woody plants
Deciduous hedge · hard renovation
Evergreen hedge · renovation
Formal hedge · maintenance trim
Summer / autumn-flowering shrubs · prune new wood
Spring / early-flowering shrubs · prune after flowering
Wisteria · twice a year
Apple & pear · winter pruning
Apple & pear · summer pruning, restricted forms
Plum / cherry / Prunus · silver-leaf rule
Rose pruning · bush / shrub
Ornamental grasses · cut back, deciduous
Herbaceous perennials · cut back
Beds, borders & planting
Mulching
Border weeding / hoeing
Spring-flowering bulb planting
Summer bulb planting · dahlia, lily
Summer bedding · plant out
Winter / spring bedding · plant out
Perennial planting
Hardscape & seasonal
Patio / paving jet washing
Leaf clearance · lawn & beds
Mowing height
Cut lower (40–45 mm) in spring & autumn; raise to 65–75 mm in summer so longer leaf shades the crown and resists drought — and raise the cut further in any dry spell. Mow weekly to fortnightly March–October; rarely needed in winter. Never mow frozen, waterlogged, or wind-dried ground.
Exceptions & things worth knowing
01
Prunus & silver leaf

Plums, cherries and all Prunus are pruned spring to mid-summer only — never in autumn or winter, when silver-leaf spores are active and wounds heal slowest. Apples & pears are the opposite: pruned in winter.

02
The bird-nesting law

Cutting hedges between March and August is restricted — damaging an active nest is an offence under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981. Keep renovation to Nov–Feb; check for nests before any summer trim.

03
Conifer vs yew

Conifers are trimmed only up to late August — later cuts leave permanent bare patches. Yew is more forgiving and tolerates trimming into September.

04
Leave grasses for winter

Deciduous grasses and perennials give winter structure and wildlife habitat, so cutting back waits until early spring, before new shoots emerge — Miscanthus and Pennisetum into April. Borderline-hardy types wait until frost has passed.

05
Wisteria, twice a year

Summer (Jul–Aug): shorten whippy growth to five or six leaves. Winter (Jan–Feb): cut those back to two or three buds.

06
Scarify & aerate

Peak is early autumn (Sep–Oct), when grass recovers strongly; a lighter spring pass is fine. Avoid summer drought and frozen or waterlogged soil. Hollow-tine aeration only every three to four years.

07
Jet washing

Best in spring (Mar–May), with an optional autumn touch-up. Avoid frost — wash only on a dry, mild day above 8°C, or trapped water can freeze and crack the stone.

08
Mulch & feed need moisture

Apply mulch to damp, unfrozen soil in mid-spring or autumn. Match the feed to the season — never autumn-feed with leftover high-nitrogen summer feed.

NT Landscape and Garden Care Ltd ·Teddington, SW London ·07469 065 454 ·info@ntgarden.co.uk NT   Reference chart

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