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The Fife Garden Calendar

What to do in your Fife garden, month by month.

National gardening advice is written for southern England. We're not in southern England. This calendar is written for the actual climate of east Fife — windy springs, short summers, mild autumns and the kind of winter that can produce a hard frost in May. It's the calendar we follow on every garden we look after.

You are here · May

Scroll to May below for what to do this week, or browse the whole year. Pair this with our live frost tracker for planting decisions you can actually trust.

January

Winter

Plan, prune, protect.

Do this month

  • •Prune apple and pear trees while dormant — open the centre, remove crossing branches.
  • •Wash pots and clean tools — a quiet job that pays back all year.
  • •Order seeds. Choose varieties bred for short Scottish summers (look for early-maturing types).
  • •Check tree ties and stakes after winter winds.

Hold off

  • ×Don't prune cherries, plums or any stone fruit — wait until summer to avoid silver leaf disease.
  • ×Don't walk on frosted lawns — you'll bruise the grass and leave footprint patterns for weeks.

February

Winter

The soil starts to wake.

Do this month

  • •Chit early potatoes — stand them eyes-up in egg boxes on a cool, light windowsill.
  • •Prune wisteria — cut last year's side shoots back to two or three buds.
  • •Sow chillies, peppers and tomatoes indoors with bottom heat.
  • •Cut back ornamental grasses before new growth starts pushing through.

Hold off

  • ×Don't plant out anything tender — Fife air frost is still very much in play.
  • ×Don't cultivate sodden ground — wait until you can walk on it without leaving deep prints.

March

Spring

Soil-prep month.

Do this month

  • •First mow on a dry day — set the blade high, just take the tips off.
  • •Top-dress beds with home-made compost or well-rotted manure.
  • •Sow broad beans, peas, parsnips and lettuce direct.
  • •Plant onion sets, shallots and seed potatoes (early varieties first).

Hold off

  • ×Don't scarify the lawn yet — it's still recovering from winter; wait until April.
  • ×Don't prune spring-flowering shrubs (forsythia, ribes) until after they've flowered.

April

Spring

The garden lifts off.

Do this month

  • •Scarify and aerate the lawn — pulls out moss and thatch, lets air to the roots.
  • •Sow carrots, beetroot, kale and salads outside.
  • •Plant out hardy annuals and dahlias (tubers, not the new shoots — frost still possible).
  • •Mulch borders to lock in moisture before the dry weeks of May.

Hold off

  • ×Don't plant tender bedding (begonias, busy lizzies) — too risky in Fife until late May.
  • ×Don't cut hedges where birds may be nesting (March–August is sensitive).

May

Spring

This month

The busiest month.

Do this month

  • •Mow weekly. The lawn is at peak growth.
  • •Plant out runner beans, courgettes, squash and tomatoes — but not until after the last air frost (use our frost tracker).
  • •Stake tall perennials before they flop.
  • •Pinch out broad bean tips when in full flower to prevent blackfly.

Hold off

  • ×Don't leave grass clippings sitting on the lawn in heavy clumps — it suffocates and yellows underneath.
  • ×Don't plant out too early in coastal towns — Tayport and Newport-on-Tay can still surprise you.

June

Summer

Maintenance & abundance.

Do this month

  • •Water containers daily — wind dries them out faster than sun.
  • •Earth up potatoes; harvest first earlies if you planted in late March.
  • •Take softwood cuttings of lavender, rosemary and box.
  • •Pinch tomato side-shoots if growing cordon varieties.

Hold off

  • ×Don't water during the hottest part of the day — it scorches and wastes water; early morning is best.
  • ×Don't cut grass too short — leave 4cm in summer to retain moisture and shade roots.

July

Summer

Long days, peak harvest.

Do this month

  • •Pick courgettes small and often — they vanish into marrows otherwise.
  • •Deadhead roses, dahlias, sweet peas — keep them flowering.
  • •Summer-prune trained apples and pears once new growth firms up.
  • •Sow autumn salads, spring cabbage and kale.

Hold off

  • ×Don't leave fruit cages open — birds clear soft fruit in hours.
  • ×Don't feed lawns with high-nitrogen fertiliser in dry weather — you'll scorch it.

August

Summer

Harvest, save, sow.

Do this month

  • •Harvest plums, blackcurrants, raspberries.
  • •Save seed from peas, beans and tomatoes you'd like to grow next year.
  • •Cut back herbs and dry the surplus.
  • •Order spring bulbs while choice is best.

Hold off

  • ×Don't let weeds set seed — pulling now saves hours next spring.
  • ×Don't prune apple trees in mid-summer if they look stressed.

September

Autumn

Lawn-renewal month.

Do this month

  • •Best month for lawn repair — overseed bare patches; soil is still warm but no longer baking.
  • •Plant spring bulbs (daffodils, alliums) — earlier is better.
  • •Lift maincrop potatoes once foliage yellows.
  • •Sow green manures (mustard, vetch) on empty veg beds.

Hold off

  • ×Don't leave lawn clippings on a wet, cooling lawn — collect them now.
  • ×Don't prune spring-flowering shrubs — you'll cut off next year's buds.

October

Autumn

Tidy, mulch, plant.

Do this month

  • •Plant tulip bulbs (October–November is their window in Fife).
  • •Lift dahlia tubers after first frost; dry and store.
  • •Plant bare-root trees, hedging and roses — best month of the year for it.
  • •Top up compost bins with autumn leaves and chopped material.

Hold off

  • ×Don't cut down all perennials — leave seed-heads (rudbeckia, echinacea) for winter birds.
  • ×Don't leave fallen apples to rot under the tree if scab or canker is present — bag and bin those.

November

Autumn

Wind-down work.

Do this month

  • •Last mow on a dry day — slightly higher than usual.
  • •Wrap tree fern crowns and tender exotics.
  • •Empty and turn the compost heap; layer with leaves.
  • •Service mowers and tools — get blades sharpened over winter.

Hold off

  • ×Don't walk on lawns in heavy frost.
  • ×Don't prune fruit trees in damp, mild spells — wait until the cold sets in fully.

December

Winter

Rest, reflect, plan.

Do this month

  • •Wash and store seed trays, pots, fleeces.
  • •Note what worked and what didn't — write it on the seed packets.
  • •Hang fat-balls; keep the bird bath ice-free.
  • •Force hyacinths and paperwhites for indoor scent in January.

Hold off

  • ×Don't over-tidy — log piles, hollow stems and leaf litter shelter beneficial insects through winter.
  • ×Don't panic-prune in mid-winter; wait for the proper January window.

Want us to look after the calendar so you don't have to?

We maintain gardens across Fife to this calendar — chemical free, on a regular rhythm, with one fair hourly rate. No tie-ins, no surprises.

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