Painters Month-By-Month Garden Calendar

Gardens are all about timing! It's never too late to plan yours using these quick monthly checklists:

January

What's showing color:

Witch Hazel, Winter Jasmine, Winter Daphne, Hellebore, Twig Dogwood

Chores:

• Prune fruit trees & grapevines

• Remove unwanted weeds & overgrowth that died back during winter
  

February

What's showing color:

Crocus, Hellebore, Winter Honeysuckle, Carolina Jessamine, Witch Hazel, Camellia

Chores:

• Fertilize shade trees & spring flowering bulbs

• Prep garden beds for early season veggies

• Prune summer flowering shrubs such as Crape Myrtle, Rose of Sharon, and Panicle Hydrangeas

• Cut back ornamental grasses

• Divide clumping perennials such as Daylilies and Shastas

March:

What's showing color:

Crocus, Hellebore, Carolina Jessamine, Daffodils, Violas, Pansies, Mahonia, Saucer & Star Magnolias, Flowering Cherry, Pieris, Fothergilla...

Chores:

• Mark your calendar for Painters Greenhouse opening day!

• Fertilize shrubs & trees

• Fertilize Asparagus beds

• Fertilize veggie garden beds prior to planting

• Plant fruit trees & vines and other shrubs & trees

• Plant early season veggie starts

• Begin organic pest treatment on fruit trees

April

What's showing color:

Crossvine, Peony, Daffodils, Amsonia, Lungwort, Jacob's Ladder, Columbine, Coreopsis, Woodland Phlox, Trillium, Dwarf Crested Iris, Globe Flower, Bleeding Heart, Jack in the Pulpit, Foamflower, Meadow Sage, Baptisia, Carolina Silverbell, Dogwood, Redbud, Viburnum, Rhododendron, Lilac, Carolina Allspice, Pieris, Azalea, Kerria, Leucothoe...

Chores:

• Mark your calendar for Painters Greenhouse Herb Fest!

• Fertilize any remaining shrubs not fed

• Watch veggies (especially cruciferous crops) for caterpillars and treat as needed

• Mulch garden beds as needed

May

What's showing color:

Clematis, Honeysuckle, Yarrow, Chives, Amsonia, Blanket Flower, Calla Lily, Columbine, Milkweed, Baptisia, Bearded Iris, Goat's Beard, Peony, Lavender, Catmint, Penstemon, Salvia, Indian Pink, Spiderwort, Coreopsis, New Jersey Tea, Southern Magnolia, Kousa Dogwood, Lilac, Rhododendron, Viburnum, Mountain Laurel, Virginia Sweetspire, Azalea, Deutzia, Weigela...

Chores:

• Mark your calendar for Painters Greenhouse Mothers Day Weekend! Time to get some hanging baskets

• Fertilize summer flowering plants like Crape Myrtle

• Wait to cut back spring bulb foliage until it turns brown

• Fertilize veggie starts

• Plant tomato, sweet potato, pepper, & eggplant starts (still watching for late frosts) and sow melons, corn, cucumbers, okra, & summer squash

• Repot houseplants needing it and begin giving houseplants regular, deeper watering

June

What's showing color:

Yucca, Hypericum, Milkweed, Daylily, Balloon Flower, Stokes Aster, Coreopsis, Red Hot Poker, Salvia, Agastache, Bee Balm, Veronica, Russian Sage, Catmint, Southern Magnolia, Mimosa, Smoketree, Oakleaf, Bigleaf & Mophead Hydrangeas, Sweet Azalea, Rosebay Rhododendron, Gardenia, Roses, Clethra, Southern Bush Honeysuckle...

Chores:

• Stop at Painters Greenhouse one last time before closing for the summer

• Fertilize veggies, shrubs & trees

• Plant okra, beans, pumpkins, and later batch tomatoes

• Prune needle evergreens like Juniper & Arborvitae

• Prune Bigleaf & Mophead Hydrangea blooms once faded

• Deadhead Shastas, Phlox, and Daylilies for 2nd bloom flush

• Trim dead bulb foliage

• Watch for Japanese Beetles and veggie pests

July

What's showing color:

Coneflower, Agastache, Milkweed, Garden Phlox, Black-Eyed Susan, Russian Sage, Coreopsis, Shasta Daisy, Gaura, Bugbane, Hardy Geranium, Bee Balm, Catmint, Mountain Mint, Buttonbush, Clethra, Smooth, Mophead, Panicle, & Oakleaf Hydrangeas, Steeplebush, Hypericum, Lilac Chaste Tree...

Chores:

• Give landscape plants second rounds of fertilizer

• Plant beans, carrots, and tomatoes for late season harvest

• Prune fruiting canes of raspberries and blackberries after harvest

• Deadhead flowers for second bloom flush

• Keep veggie and flower gardens well-watered during periods of extreme heat and drought

August

What's showing color:

Coneflower, Lobelia, Agastache, milkweed, Turtlehead, Culver's Root, Hosta, Garden Phlox, Black-Eyed Susan, Coreopsis, Guara, Hardy Geranium, Bee Balm, Catmint, Passionflower, Obedient Plant, Mountain Mint, Ironweed, Boneset, Asters, Goldenrod, Swamp Hibiscus, Buttonbush, Clethra, Smooth, Panicle, & Oakleaf Hydrangea, Steeplebush...

Chores:

• Maintain irrigation during heat and periods of drought

• Prune fruit trees for shape and to remove suckers

• Sow cool season veggie seeds

September

What's showing color:

Belgian Mums, Violas & Pansies, Toad Lily, Anemone, Hardy Mums, Hardy Asters, Sedum, Goldenrod, Joe Pye Weed, Ironweed, Helenium, Heliopsis, Helianthus, Boneset, Turtlehead, Gentian...

Chores:

• Mark your calendar for Painters Fall Season Opening Day!

• Plant groundcovers and perennials so they have time to establish before winter

• Start planting shrubs and trees

• Prep houseplants to move indoors (pest check, wipe down, transplant)

• Plant legume cover crops if not planting fall gardens

October

What's showing color:

Goldenrod, Fall Asters, Belgian and Hardy Mums, Toad Lily, Franklinia, Oakleaf Hydrangea, Beautyberry, Dogwood, Itea, Chokeberry, Fothergilla, Holly, Sumac, Viburnum, Maples...

Chores:

• Finish planting shrubs, trees, and perennials before cold sets in

• Divide dense perennials and spring-blooming bulbs

• Plant new spring bulbs

• Leave spent blooms and grass heads for birds and pollinators to have shelter and food through winter

• Leave the fallen leaves when possible for pollinator habitat

November

What's showing color:

Witch Hazel, Camelia, Franklinia, Beautyberry, Holly, Dogwood, Viburnum, Chokeberry, Sumac, Oakleaf Hydrangea...

Chores:

• Watch for pop-up events at Painters Greenhouse. Houseplants are a lovely treat!

• Plant spring flowering bulbs, if not already done

• Remember to leave frost-killed perennials and grasses for wildlife (cut back after last frost in spring)

• Water evergreen shrubs and trees thoroughly before winter

December

What's showing color:

Camelia, Beautyberry, Holly, Twig Dogwood, Sumac, Hellebore...

Chores:

• Mulch strawberries with wheat or pine straw

• Reduce watering of house plants and avoid feeding unless an active winter bloomer, such as Cyclamen and Christmas Cactus

• Assess garden tools and equipment to see if any need repairs

• Start dreaming and planning for next year...