Sussex, Surrey & Kent · 6 min read
When Is the Best Time of Year to Landscape a Garden?
There is no bad season to build, but there is a right season for each part of the work, and a right month to start the conversation.
Garden under construction with planting going in during the autumn season
Most people ring in April wanting the garden finished for summer, which is the one thing the calendar makes hard. Design, approvals and joinery lead times run to months, and the best planting window has already closed. Understanding the seasons makes it far easier to get what you want on the date you want it.
Autumn: the best month to start talking
September to November is the ideal time to begin design. The garden is still legible, you have just lived through a summer of using it, and starting now means drawings, approvals and material lead times run through winter with a build slot in spring. Autumn is also the best planting season by some distance: warm soil, reliable rainfall and months of root establishment before the first dry spell.
Winter: better for building than people think
Hard landscaping continues perfectly well through winter apart from during sustained frost, and bare-root trees and hedging, which are both cheaper and establish better, are only available between November and March. The genuine constraint is groundworks on saturated clay, where heavy plant does real damage. On wet plots we programme groundworks for drier windows and protect access routes with matting.
Spring: the busiest and most competitive season
Spring is when everyone starts looking, which means diaries fill, material lead times stretch and the good contractors are already committed. It is an excellent time to build if you booked in autumn, and a frustrating time to begin enquiring.
Summer: build season, hard planting season
Long days and dry ground make summer efficient for construction, especially on clay. Planting in June and July is possible but needs irrigation and commitment to watering, so where a scheme finishes in midsummer we often plant the structure then and complete the herbaceous layer in autumn.
The practical answer
- Want the garden for next summer: start the design conversation in September or October.
- Planning application likely: add ten weeks and start earlier again.
- Priority is planting quality: aim for an autumn completion.
- Priority is speed of build on heavy clay: aim for a late spring or summer programme.
- Whenever you start, our diary typically books two to six months ahead, so the date is set at booking rather than at the first spade.
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Where we work
We design and build gardens, garden rooms and pergolas across Mid Sussex and the surrounding towns.
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