When I moved into my current house, it was winter and nothing was flowering. To be honest, I was too busy ripping up the plastic grass, excavating the half metre depth of rubble underneath it and putting down topsoil to notice if it had! 

The following spring, though, something amazing happened as the borders came alive. First the aquilegia bloomed in April, then the dianthus in May, closely followed by foxgloves and peonies. By some amazing coincidence, there was at least one perennial plant blooming constantly right through to October. 

It eventually dawned on me that the previous people must have planted it that way on purpose - clever. I’m still not sure what the plastic grass was about, though! 

After reading more about seasonal planting, I started adding to the monthly flower fest, with winter and autumn blooming plants, until I ended up with a garden that bloomed in every month of the year - and that, in a nutshell, is seasonal planting. 

So here’s our seasonal British flower calendar: your one-stop guide to which plants bloom in each month. If you have a brand new garden, you can use this to start from scratch and create your own month by month plan, but for established gardens, all of these flowers will also add to your existing displays and help to fill seasonal (and literal) gaps.

I’ve focused mainly on perennials, but at certain times of year you may want to boost these by adding in some flowering shrubs, trees and climbers. Do also check your favourite plant’s bloom time before choosing, as this can vary by a month or two depending on the variety.

Jump to:

• January
• February
• March
• April
• May
• June
• July
• August
• September
• October
• November
• December
• Seasonal planting
• Pot planting

What blooms in January?

Hellebores and primulas

While there may not be much choice of perennials in January, those that do flower very definitely pull their weight. Primulas will flower for around three months, while many hellebores will keep going right up until April.

You can also add to your winter displays with bulbs including snowdrops, hyacinths and narcissi, winter flowering shrubs like heather, daphne, sarcococca and viburnum, and climbers including winter jasmine, winter honeysuckle and cirrhosa clematis varieties.

What blooms in February?

Erysimum, sweet William and violets

While many winter flowering shrubs and climbers will still be on top form, you can now add in some of the earliest blooming perennials: erysimum, sweet William and violets.

An honourable mention must go to the sunshine shrub forsythia with its bright yellow blossoms, and you’ll probably also see daffodils and crocus popping up during this month if you’ve planted them in November.

What blooms in March?

Camellia and pulmonaria

It’s camellia season! These showy evergreens are some of the first spring flowers to bloom, providing much needed exuberant colour until the peonies and roses take over.

Elsewhere in the garden, early flowering magnolia trees and armandii clematis varieties are kicking off now. Pulmonarias are also a good shout now - with their colour changing flowers and silver-speckled leaves, they make a pretty groundcover plant for under trees or the front of borders.

What blooms in April?

Aquilegia, aubrieta and peonies

Aquilegia is kind of a big deal this month. It’s often the first spring perennial to pop up in the border, with its bonnet or pompom shaped flowers emerging on tall stems to herald the start of the bloom season.

I also love to see woodland fritillaries coming out in April. In terms of groundcover plants, brunnera’s tiny blue flowers and the colourful carpet that is aubrieta are getting going now, and you may also get some peony flowers if you have an Itoh or Tree peony plant.

What blooms in May?

Salvia, geum and agapanthus

At this time of year there seems to be something new blooming in the garden every day. While aquilegia will still be out in full force, you can add a riot of late spring colour with low growing erigeron, bee friendly nepeta and coreopsis, and the bright pops of tall border irises. 

Some of the big hitters like salvia, dianthus, geum and geranium are starting their summer-long bloomtime now, and you can expect them to keep on going right up until the first frosts. By the end of the month you should start seeing the spectacular starry clusters of agapanthus opening up, too. 

For more long flowering choices, read our feature on long blooming perennials.

What blooms in June?

Roses, lavender and foxgloves

Arguably the best month in the garden, everyone’s favourite roses inevitably take the limelight, but there’s plenty more going on. Foxgloves, hollyhocks and delphiniums tower over the borders, with fragrant lavenders and verbena bringing all the bees to the yard.

Keep those pollinators happy with achillea, astrantia and scabious. Even heuchera, the plant you grew for its foliage, is joining in the bloom game this month, with tall slender stems covered in little pink, lilac or white flowers.

What blooms in July?

Eryngium, crocosmia and cosmos

If June is the month for abundance, July is when the more interesting plants (imo) take the stage. I’m talking about fluffy astilbe, huge spherical alliums, the perfect pompoms of echinops (AKA the bee magnet) spiky blue eryngiums and a huge variety of dahlias.

You’ll also see crocosmia, phlox, cosmos and rudbeckia at their brightest and best this month, with hydrangeas joining them over in the shrub border.

What blooms in August?

Sedum, lobelia and anemone

While dahlias are looking their best this month and long flowering plants are still valiantly blooming, there are still some new sights to look out for. This month sedum, lobelia, kniphofia (red hot pokers), asters and Japanese anemones are taking their turn in the limelight.

Sedum is an understated hero plant that blooms for months and is one of the easiest and most reliable perennials, while the gracefully swaying anemones will keep you in flowers right up to October and probably beyond.

What blooms in September?

Well hello, Nerine…

Summer’s officially over, but no-one’s told your garden. Salvia, verbena, dahlias, cosmos, leucanthemum and rudbeckia are all still going strong, and you can boost your floral displays by adding some autumn flowering bulbs like sternbergia and crocus. For me, the big hitter of the autumn is nerine. Blooming from September to November, it’s the floral shot in the arm your garden needs right now.

What blooms in October?

Cyclamen and camellia

Surprisingly, there are some great plants you can add to your garden to get new blooms in October. These include low growing cyclamen - they’re great for pots - and some camellias. 

If the weather stays mild enough, there should also be some of those late summer blooming plants still in flower - keep deadheading them as they fade and you should see new ones coming out even now.

What blooms in November?

Get creative with climbers

Some early hellebores will start to bloom in November and many varieties of penstemon, anemone and liriope will also be but if your garden is starting to look a little bare right now, it’s worth looking at adding some evergreens or winter flowering shrubs like mahonia and viburnum.

Winter flowering climbers are also a good option at this time - cirrhosa and napaulensis clematis will give you a very welcome burst of colour.

What blooms in December?

Hellebores > boring gardens

Put down the poinsettia - it’s hellebore time! These wonderful evergreen perennials are the saviours of many a winter garden, with a flowering season running from November to March (depending on the variety) and some of them even blooming around Christmas day.

If you choose wisely (or get our grower to do it for you) you can have hellebore flowers right through the winter, taking you safely up to spring when it all starts again.

Seasonal planting in practice

Here’s an example of seasonal planting for a border in a colour scheme of blues, whites, purples and creams. Plant at least one from each month to keep your display blooming all year round, adding evergreen foliage plants like heucheras or ferns and choosing plants of different heights and textures to keep it interesting.

You can find lots more inspiration and advice in our garden design pages.

A pot for all seasons

You can also plant up several pots with perennials that bloom in a specific season and switch them around according to the time of year. An afternoon’s work for years of enjoyment! 

Here’s some ideas:

Disclaimer

All bloom times given are for the UK so if you’re reading this in another region, it may not be accurate. Areas of the UK vary greatly and who even knows what the weather is doing, so bloom times given are averages.

Don’t worry if your flowers emerge earlier or later than the months stated in a particularly warm or particularly cold year. Plant bloom times vary from variety to variety, with some blooming sooner than others - please check the variety you choose.