Innehållsförteckning för Year Planner 2026 från BBC Gardeners' World

“One swallow does not make a summer, but one skein of geese, cleaving the murk of March thaw, is the spring”Aldo Leopold March star plants ★1 Viola Sorbet Series These bedding plants add jazz to pots and troughs and colour beneath the bare branches of deciduous shrubs. By next month, bulbs will be everywhere but these cheery blooms can still be going. Easily grown from seed. Deadhead regularly to ensure the longest flowering period possible. Flowers November-April Height x Spread 15cm x 15cm ★2 Dwarf daffodils Miniature daffodils such as ‘Tête-à-tête’ look pretty in containers and windowboxes, or planted at border edges. Other short daffodils to try include ‘Tête Boucle’, a double daffodil bred from ‘Tête-à-tête’ and ‘Snipe’, which has pale graceful flowers and only grows to 15cm. F February-April…

“June is the pearl of summer, shining with warmth and joy”L.M Montgomery June star plants ★1 Roses Repeat-flowering shrub roses such as ‘Princess Anne’ are a highlight of June, adding colour and scent to borders and containers through summer. Keep deadheading and you may have a good display of blooms well into autumn. Flowers June-October Height x Spread 1.2m x 1.2m ★2 Campanula Different types of campanula need different growing conditions, but they’re all easy to grow. Most campanulas are good for cutting. Cut the stems when half the overall number of flowers on a spray are open. ‘Bernice’ has two or three split bells, one inside the other. F June-September H x S 80cm x 50cm ★3 Geum There aren’t many bright-yellow blooms at this time of year – daffodils…

“All the months are crude experiments, out of which September is made”Virginia Woolf September star plants ★1 Cosmos ‘Sonata White’ Cosmos are one of the most popular annuals and it is easy to see why. They are simple to germinate from seed, grow fast, and flower reliably and without pause into next month, provided that you do lots of deadheading. They are especially good in pots, as well as borders. Flowers July-October Height x Spread 50cm x 30cm ★2 Asters (Symphyotrichum) Boost your displays with these low-maintenance perennials at a time when other summer-flowering perennials have faded. Also known as Michaelmas daisies, asters are a colourful addition to autumn borders and containers, with many varieties to choose from.  F August-November H x S 40cm x 40cm ★3 Hylotelephium ‘Purple Emperor’ This flat-headed plant…

“In cold December fragrant chaplets blow and heavy harvests nod beneath the snow”Alexander Pope December star plants ★1 Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘Dark Desire’ In the balmy months of summer the bottlebrush flowers in shades of purplish black and deep, dark red add sultry shades to borders. In winter the flowerheads look beautiful in the frost.  Flowers July-October Height x Spread 80cm x 50cm ★2 Mahonia x media ‘Winter Sun’ This is what we need in the run up to Christmas – a bit of sparkling yellow to cheer us up. This one also comes with architectural evergreen leaves and an enchanting scent – one of the great assets of winter-flowering shrubs is how many of them have great perfumes. F November-March H x S 3m x 2m ★3 Camellia ‘Yuletide’ This camellia has festive,…

“Every man should be born again on the first of January. Start with a fresh page”Henry Ward Beecher January star plants ★1 Skimmia japonica An evergreen stalwart with scented pinky-white flowers in spring. This plant is popular for winter pots where they provide strong structure. As an added extra, scarlet berries add bright colour if a male variety such as ‘Rubella’ is nearby. Best grown in acid soil in light shade. Flowers March-April Height x Spread 2m x 1m ★2 Witch hazel The flowers of this deciduous shrub are a twist of straggly petals, but they are always welcome and always exotic. And, for good measure, they have a wonderful, spicy scent. The flowers are held on bare branches in winter, with the leaves emerging later in the spring.  F December-February H…

“April, the angel of the months, the young love of the year”Vita Sackville-West April star plants ★1 Aquilegias Also known as Granny’s bonnets for the shape of their nodding flowerheads, which can be bi-coloured and come in shades including white, yellow, pink and red. They will self seed around your garden giving you more flowers for free.  Flowers May-June  Height x Spread 1m x 45cm ★2 Flamed tulips These feathered varieties come in dramatic colours, perfect for making a statement in borders and containers. ‘Carnaval de Nice’ (pictured) has spectacular flowers that are flamed in two shades of scarlet. Plant the bulbs in a sunny spot from late October to November for late spring flowers. F April-May  H x S 50cm x 15cm ★3 Pyrus caucasica April is cherry blossom…

“Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability”Sam Keen July star plants ★1 Pelargonium ‘Lord Bute’ This pelargonium is sensational, with velvety petals the colour of tawny port, edged with a squeeze of fruity pink. It’s at its best on its own in a mellow, well-aged terracotta pot or bringing a bit of aristocratic tone to a border combination. Keep in a greenhouse or conservatory over winter. Flowers May-October Height x Spread 45cm x 30cm ★2 Veronicas Also known as garden speedwells, these long-lived perennials are useful for adding height to the border. They are easy to grow, with flower spires that are usually white, blue or pink. These upright spires make an attractive contrast to plants with round or daisy-type flowers. F June-August H x S 60cm x 60cm ★3 Lavandula stoechas…

“The end of summer is not the end of the world… Here’s to October”AA Milne October star plants ★1 Acers Elegant Japanese maples, with their startling autumn colour, are both appealing and manageable. They come in a huge range of varieties, including Acer palmatum (pictured) which is a small tree. There are plenty of compact acers that are ideally suited to small gardens, in borders or pots. Height x Spread 8m x 4m ★2 Ceratostigma willmottianum This plant behaves like a shrub but sometimes dies back like a herbaceous plant. Whatever it may be, it’s compact enough to fit in most borders, it has flowers the colour of well-settled denim, leaves with just an edge of red at this time of year and attractive seedheads. Flowers August-October H x S 1m…

“In February there is everything to hope for and nothing to regret”Patience Strong February star plants ★1 Hellebore These attractive plants bring colour to the front of borders in late winter to early spring. Their bowl-shaped flowers can be single or double, from white through to deep purple. Plant them in full sun to partial shade, in fertile, well-drained soil. Flowers December-March Height x Spread Approx. 35cm x 35cm ★2 White forsythia Not an actual forsythia, Abeliophyllum distichum has scented, star-shaped flowers in shades of white or pale pink. These appear on bare branches towards the end of winter. This deciduous shrub also has vibrant autumn leaf colour. Plant in a sunny spot. F February-March H x S 1.5m x 2m ★3 Crocus ‘Advance’ This is a striking crocus with orange-throated, golden goblet…

“May is the month of expectation”Emily Brontë May star plants ★1 Primula chungensis This is one of the candelabra varieties with tall stems supporting carousels of colour (they also come in an array of reds and pinks). It’s native to China and Tibet, where it grows in huge, damp meadows. Another plant for the edge of ponds or streams. Best out of full sunshine. Flowers May-June Height x Spread 30cm x 20cm ★2 Dryopteris wallichiana Male ferns in general are easy to grow, adaptable and can develop into some of the most magnificent perennials in the garden. And most of them love shade, adding lushness to tricky spots. D. wallichiana is a tall hardy fern that is native to the Himalayas. Once established it will cope well with dry conditions. H x…

“August – the summer’s last stand”Sara Baume August star plants ★1 Echinops Spikey looking, globe-shaped flowers cover this plant throughout August. Most echinops have flowers in a shade of blue, ranging from a blue-grey to deep blue, almost purple. These are attractive to pollinators and make good cut flowers. Flowers August Height x Spread 1m x 60cm ★2 Zinnias Zinnias are native to the wide American prairies but there are lots of varieties we can grow in our gardens. They dislike root disturbance, but sow direct and persevere, for bright colour in the border. Give them lots of sun. The better the summer, the happier your zinnias will be. F July-October H x S 75cm x 25cm ★3 Red hot poker ‘Limelight’ is a compact red hot poker, with short spikes…

“November’s sky is chill and drear, November’s leaf is red and sear”Sir Walter Scott November star plants ★1 Liriope muscari Bring late colour to your borders with this evergreen perennial that flowers into November. Known also as lily turf, it’s easy to grow and tolerant of many conditions once established, including dry shade and drought. Use it to edge a shady border, or plant beneath deciduous trees. Flowers August-November Height x Spread 40cm x 45cm ★2 Clematis tangutica Choose this long-flowering clematis for colour into October, with lemony-coloured flowers hanging on as the nights draw in and the days get colder. These are followed by pretty seedheads that bring a new stratum of delight to autumn. Keep the roots of clematis in the shade. F July-October H x S 5m x 2.5m…