The Hampshire gardening year
What a Winchester garden actually needs, month by month
Chalk over the downs, clay in the valleys, and a growing season that starts earlier here than most of the country. Here is how we think about the gardening year around Winchester and Chandler's Ford — useful whether you have us in or do the lot yourself.
Spring
March – May
Everything at once. The first cuts go on high and come down gradually; borders are weeded, edged and mulched before growth closes them in; roses and late-flowering shrubs are pruned. It is also the last comfortable window for turfing before the ground dries out, and the point at which an overgrown garden is still worth rescuing rather than clearing. Hedge cutting largely stops from March as nesting season gets under way.
Summer
June – August
Holding the line rather than starting things. Mowing and edging on the regular round, hedges cut once nesting is over, deadheading, and steady weeding so the beds do not disappear. Hampshire chalk drains fast, so new planting and fresh turf want watering through a dry spell far longer than people expect. This is also the best season for jetwashing — patios dry out properly between washes.
Autumn
September – November
The best working season of the year and the most underrated. Ground is warm and damp, which makes it the ideal time for turfing, planting and any hedging that is going in. Leaves come off the lawns and out of the borders, perennials are cut back and divided, and the final mows go on with the blades raised. If you are planning a landscaping job, this is when to book it.
Winter
December – February
When the heavy work happens. With the growth down you can see the levels, the boundaries and the bones of a garden, so clearance, fencing, groundworks, paving and driveways all go far more smoothly than they will in June. Dormant trees and shrubs get their structural pruning, and a good winter clear-out makes the spring half the job it would otherwise be.
What shapes the work
Every garden is a little different.
How much a garden needs, and when, comes down to a handful of things. It is exactly what we work through with you when we come out to look.
- 01How much of the plot is lawn, how much is border, and how much is hard surface.
- 02Whether the garden needs rescuing first or is already ticking over.
- 03Chalk or clay — it changes what will establish and how fast the ground drains.
- 04What you actually want to do yourself, and what you would rather never think about again.
- 05Whether a set weekly or fortnightly visit suits you better than calling when it needs doing.
If you would rather not work it out from a page, ring and we will come and look. You will get an honest answer about what the garden needs now, what can wait until autumn, and what is not worth spending money on at all.
Rather not think about it?
Put the garden on a regular round and the whole year is somebody else's problem — weekly, fortnightly or monthly, whatever suits the plot.