These baselines are designed to be adjusted for your own garden’s shelter, elevation, drainage, coastal exposure and current weather.
Mild by Scottish standards but exposed: cool wind, salt-laced air, and spring nights that make tender crops worth delaying.
Season: Main outdoor season: March to October, with hardy winter crops carrying into early spring.
Protection: If nights are under 7C or easterly winds are sharp, keep fleece, cloches, or a cold frame in the plan.
More frost-prone than the coast, especially in low hollows and open countryside. Hardy crops are dependable; tender crops need patience.
Season: Main outdoor season: April to October, extended with fleece, frames, or a polytunnel.
Protection: Add one to two weeks of caution versus Carnoustie for beans, courgettes, sweetcorn, tomatoes, and bedding.
Useful fallback for nearby gardens where the Tay and urban warmth soften some frost risk but wind still shapes planting.
Season: Main outdoor season: March to October, with earlier starts in sheltered walls and containers.
Protection: Containers warm quickly but dry fast; harden off seedlings gradually and keep fleece nearby.
A broader fallback for Aberdeen, Moray, and exposed east-coast gardens where wind and cold spring soil often delay tender planting.
Season: Main outdoor season: April to September, with hardy crops carrying the shoulder months.
Protection: Keep fleece, cloches, and windbreaks ready for brassicas, beans, courgettes, young herbs, and bedding plants.
Best for northern, upland, and island gardens where wind, salt, rainfall, and short warm windows shape what is sensible outdoors.
Season: Main outdoor season: May to September, extended by tunnels, frames, and hardy winter crops.
Protection: Prioritise hardy vegetables, resilient perennials, wind shelter, and protected growing for tomatoes, beans, and courgettes.
Milder than inland east Scotland but often wetter and windier, so drainage, slug pressure, and shelter matter as much as frost.
Season: Main outdoor season: March to October, with mild autumns but high wet-weather disease pressure.
Protection: Use free-draining containers, mulch carefully, ventilate covered spaces, and guard seedlings from slugs.
A practical baseline for northern gardens where inland frost pockets, upland exposure, and cooler springs slow tender crops.
Season: Main outdoor season: March to October, with hardy crops and protected starts extending the calendar.
Protection: Delay tender crops in exposed sites and use cloches for early roots, salads, peas, and young brassicas.
A balanced inland baseline with a stronger spring start than Scotland but enough frost risk to keep tender crops forecast-led.
Season: Main outdoor season: March to October, with good scope for succession sowing.
Protection: Use fleece for early sowings, water consistently through dry spells, and avoid overcommitting tender plants before mid-May.
Often warmer and drier, with an earlier start possible in sheltered gardens but more attention needed for watering and heat stress.
Season: Main outdoor season: March to November, with summer watering discipline for containers and salads.
Protection: Prioritise water storage, mulch, shade for leafy crops, and quick follow-on sowings during hot spells.
A mild maritime baseline with useful shoulder seasons, but wind, rain, and disease pressure can decide success.
Season: Main outdoor season: March to November, with sheltered coastal gardens often carrying herbs and leaves longer.
Protection: Ventilate protected spaces, improve drainage, and choose wind-tolerant flowers for exposed coastal gardens.
Mild, often windy, and rainfall-led. Coastal shelter, drainage, and sturdy plant choices are more important than chasing early dates.
Season: Main outdoor season: March to October, with mild autumn opportunities in protected gardens.
Protection: Build wind shelter, use gritty drainage for herbs, and keep slug protection ready for leafy crops and seedlings.
Cooler, more variable, and often exposed. Hardy vegetables, protected starts, and delayed tender planting are the safer baseline.
Season: Main outdoor season: April to October, with protected growing useful at both ends.
Protection: Add shelter, use fleece, and favour hardy roots, brassicas, leaves, and resilient flowers over heat-demanding crops.
Generally mild but rainfall and exposure drive decisions. Drainage, slug control, and shelter are central to reliable planting.
Season: Main outdoor season: March to October, often longer for hardy leaves and herbs in sheltered gardens.
Protection: Avoid waterlogged beds, ventilate covered crops, and keep slug control ready around seedlings.
A relatively drier Irish baseline for east and midland gardens, with good succession potential but local frost pockets inland.
Season: Main outdoor season: March to October, with useful autumn windows for hardy leaves and bulbs.
Protection: Water seed rows in dry spells, protect tender crops until nights settle, and use fleece for early sowings.
Mild, wet, windy, and highly local. Shelter and drainage decide whether tender crops and Mediterranean herbs are worth trying outdoors.
Season: Main outdoor season: March to October, with mild autumns but higher wet-weather pressure.
Protection: Choose hardy crops, protect seedlings from Atlantic wind, and use free-draining containers for herbs and flowers.
A mild maritime island baseline where wind exposure, salt, and wet spells should guide plant choice more than mainland averages.
Season: Main outdoor season: March to October, with hardy leaves, herbs, and bulbs extending the edges.
Protection: Use wind shelter, avoid waterlogged pots, and favour sturdy coastal flowers and reliable hardy vegetables.
A mild island baseline with earlier opportunities than most UK regions, balanced by sea wind, dry spells, and exposed coastal gardens.
Season: Main outdoor season: February to November, with watering discipline in dry spells.
Protection: Use wind shelter, mulch, and steady watering; do not let the mild climate hide exposed-site stress.