Seasonal Country Calendar
Your month-by-month guide to living well in the Weald. Practical countryside jobs, wildlife to watch, kitchen garden tips, and safe foraging — all tailored to the High Weald and South Downs.
January
The quietest month in the countryside — but there's plenty to plan, repair and observe.
DraftFebruary
Days lengthen, snowdrops bloom, and the first sowings begin under cover.
DraftMarch
Spring stirs across the High Weald — lambs in the fields, blossom on the blackthorn, and the first serious gardening of the year. Here's your month-by-month guide to making the most of March.
April
Bluebells carpet the ancient woodlands, cuckoos call from the trees, and the kitchen garden explodes into life. Your complete April guide to countryside living in the Weald.
May
No Mow May, dawn chorus walks, and the kitchen garden in full swing.
DraftJune
Midsummer in the Weald — haymaking, elderflower harvests, and long warm evenings.
DraftJuly
Summer at its peak — harvesting, preserving, and making the most of the long days.
DraftAugust
Blackberries ripen, swifts prepare to leave, and the harvest festival approaches.
DraftSeptember
Autumn begins — apple harvests, hedge-laying season starts, and the rut approaches.
DraftOctober
The High Weald turns gold and russet. Time for planting, preserving, and firewood.
DraftNovember
Bonfire night, bare-root planting season, and the last of the autumn colour.
DraftDecember
The countryside sleeps — but there's holly to gather, birds to feed, and plans to make.
DraftAbout the Seasonal Calendar
Each month we publish a guide to countryside living in and around the High Weald — covering practical jobs for the house, garden and smallholding; wildlife to watch for; what to sow and grow; and what you can safely forage from the hedgerows and woodlands.
Our guides are written for the Wealden landscape — heavy clay valleys, sandy ridges, ancient ghyll woodlands and open heath — but much of the advice applies across south-east England.
Foraging safety: We include foraging notes as a starting point only. Never eat any wild plant unless you are 100% certain of its identification. See our foraging safety guide for important guidelines.