Sowing the Seeds for a Beautiful Garden in 2026...

As we move towards Christmas, many gardeners will have largely wrapped up for the year. Beds are tidied, tools cleaned and stored away, and the garden begins its winter rest. While our attention may now be turning to festive celebrations, it’s also a time when many of us start looking forward to the growing season ahead — imagining what we might grow, where we might grow it, and how we can make the most of the space we have in 2026.

Planning Your Vegetable Patch for 2026

For those who grow their own vegetables, a little planning now can make a huge difference next year. Take some time to reflect on what performed well this year, what struggled, and what you actually enjoyed eating. This is also the ideal moment to think about crop rotation — moving plant families around your beds helps reduce pests and diseases while keeping soil healthy and productive.

If you’re lucky enough to have a greenhouse, polytunnel or even a small indoor propagator, you can get a surprising head start on the season. Many vegetable seeds can be sown as early as January under protection. Broad beans, onions, leeks, early lettuce, spinach and herbs like parsley and coriander can all be started early, giving you strong plants ready to go once conditions improve.

Planning now also allows you to stagger sowings, ensuring a steady harvest rather than everything maturing at once — a small detail that makes home growing far more rewarding.

"Above you can see that I use various ways to propagate seedlings early in the year, using old pots and bedding modules, trays kept from mushroom packs and plastic bottles cut to provide covers. One of my best investments though was a Super 7 Electric Windowsill Propagator, which you can see in the middle here, which I purchased 15 years ago and is still going strong!" - Web Ed.

Growing Flowers from Seed – Affordable & Rewarding

If vegetables aren’t your focus, winter is still an excellent time to plan your flower sowing. Growing annuals and perennials from seed is one of the most affordable ways to fill your garden with colour, and it gives you access to a much wider range of varieties than you’ll ever find as plants in spring.

Many popular flowers can be started early with very little space. Sweet peas, antirrhinums, cosmos, hardy annuals, delphiniums and verbena are all good candidates for early sowing, depending on the conditions you can offer. Some are surprisingly quick to grow, producing sturdy young plants ready for potting on in just a few weeks.

For anyone just starting out, a small heated propagator, or heat mat, on a bright windowsill is a worthwhile investment. These compact units can raise dozens of plants at a time and will quickly pay for themselves once you have trays of healthy seedlings ready to transplant into the garden later in the year.

If your just starting your 'Grow Your Own' journey we've also put together a quick 'Beginners Seed Sowing Checklist' which you can download and will help you plant ahead.

Why Now Is the Perfect Time to Order Seeds

With little else demanding attention in the garden, winter is the ideal time to browse seed catalogues, make your selections and get organised. Ordering early ensures you’ll have everything ready when sowing time arrives, and it avoids the disappointment of popular varieties selling out later in the season.

Having seeds on hand also encourages experimentation — trying a new variety of carrot, an unusual salad leaf, or a flower you’ve never grown before. It’s often these small experiments that become future favourites.

Looking Ahead to the Season to Come

Planning for 2026 now allows you to start the new year feeling prepared and inspired. Whether you’re aiming for a more productive veg patch, a garden full of flowers, or simply want to make better use of your space, seed planning is the first step towards a successful growing season.