Your Ultimate Grow Calendar:
What to Plant and When in Autumn

Flowers to Sow and Grow

As the days grow shorter and the air turns crisp, it's time to prepare your garden for a stunning autumn display and lay the groundwork for next year's blooms. Here's your guide to what to sow, grow, and nurture in the coming months:

Crepis Rubra (Hawk's Beard): Start by sowing Crepis Rubra seeds under cover in a cold greenhouse. These early plantings will reward you with vibrant blooms come next spring.

Hollyhocks: Kickstart the enchantment of your garden by planting hollyhock seeds, like 'Creme de Cassis,' undercover. Pot up the seedlings and let them over-winter in a cold greenhouse or frame.

Sweet Peas: Sow sweet pea seeds now and tuck them into a cold frame for the winter. They'll be ready to dazzle your garden in spring with their delicate fragrance.

Aquilegia Vulgaris (Columbine): Prepare for a stunning spring display by sowing Aquilegia Vulgaris seeds in a cold frame now.

Oriental Poppies: Bring a burst of colour to your garden by sowing oriental poppy seeds in pots and sheltering them in a cold frame throughout the winter.

Hellebore 'Winter Flowering Hybrid Mix Improved': Patience is key when sowing Hellebore seeds in pots within a cold frame. These winter beauties might take their time, but their exquisite blossoms are worth the wait.

Direct Sow Outdoors

Hardy Annuals: There's still time to direct sow hardy annuals like cornflowers, Limnanthes Douglasii (poached egg plant), annual poppies (try 'Bridal White'), and larkspur 'T&M Improved.' Your garden will burst with early colour next year if you sow these now.

Wildflowers: Create a haven for bees and butterflies by direct sowing wildflower seeds in your garden.

Plant Outdoors

Bulbs Galore: Plant daffodil bulbs, allium bulbs, and crocus bulbs now to welcome a magnificent spring. Scatter them throughout your borders or naturalise them in your grass.

Perennials & Biennials: If you've nurtured perennials and biennials from seed this year, it's time to plant them outdoors.

Hardy Bedding: Add hardy bedding plants like wallflowers, Bellis Perennis, primulas, and winter pansies to your garden for a spectacular spring show.

Container Makeover: Revive your tired summer containers with fresh winter bedding plants. Explore our 'How to plant up hanging baskets, flower pouches, and containers' article for inspiration.

Clematis: Autumn is the ideal time to plant clematis. Consider 'Kokonoe' for large purple double blooms in summer or Clematis armandii for highly scented flowers in early spring.

Vegetables and Herbs to Sow and Grow

Winter Salad: Keep your greens coming by sowing winter salad seeds and growing them in greenhouses, cold frames, or cloches throughout the winter. 'Lettuce 'Winter Gem'' can thrive from September to January in an unheated greenhouse or cold frame.

Herbs: Sow basil, dill, chives, and parsley seeds now. These herbs will brighten up your windowsill throughout the winter.

Spring Onions: Start harvesting in the spring by sowing spring onion 'Performer' under cloches.

Cauliflower 'All the Year Round': Keep your cauliflower plants in a cold frame until the spring.

 

Direct Sow Outdoors

Winter Lettuce: Sow 'Arctic King' directly into the ground for crisp, fresh salads throughout the winter.

Winter-Hardy Pea 'Meteor': Directly sow this variety now for a spring harvest.

Green Manures: Enhance your soil fertility by sowing green manures like 'Phacelia' and 'Crimson Clover' over empty beds and plots.

Sow Broad Bean 'Aquadulce Claudia': Outdoors for the earliest crops next year.

Corn Salad (Lamb's Lettuce) 'Favour': Sow now for cropping throughout autumn and winter.

Plant Outdoors

Autumn Onion and Shallot Sets: Prepare for an early harvest next summer by planting these sets now.

Autumn Planting Vegetables: Check out our autumn planting vegetables, and if planted this month, you'll enjoy bumper crops next summer.

Garlic Sets: Try something unique by growing elephant garlic, perfect for roasting!

Spring Cabbages: Plant out spring cabbages like traditional 'Durham Early' for February onwards harvesting.

Ornamental Kale: Brighten your winter veg patch with 'Rainbow Candy Crush' kale, providing 'cut and come again' leaves throughout winter and into spring.

Winter Lettuces: Plant these to keep your salads fresh through the colder months.

Rhubarb and Asparagus Crowns: For rich, fertile soil, plant rhubarb and asparagus crowns now.

Fruit to Sow and Grow

Strawberry Runners: Order strawberry runners to create a fruitful strawberry patch for next year's harvest.

Blueberry Plants: Ensure an acidic soil or grow them in pots of ericaceous compost.

Bare Root Fruit Trees: Autumn is the ideal time to plant bare root fruit trees. Whether you have a balcony or an outdoor orchard, get ready to enjoy homegrown fruit straight from your garden or allotment.

Keep One Step Ahead

Don't miss out on next year's garden treasures. Order spring-flowering bulbs now and consider investing in a bulb planter for an easier planting experience. Also, get ready to order raspberry canes and blackberries to start planting next month. If you haven't already, order hedging for planting out next month. Explore our collections of colourful hedging, fast-growing hedging, slow-growing hedging, and tall hedging plants for planting inspiration.

With these gardening tips, you'll be ready to embrace the changing seasons and nurture a garden that continues to bloom with beauty and flavour.

Happy gardening! 🌱🌼