The February winds certainly has thrown us a curve ball in the garden, many of us will have experienced loss of plants, even some of the larger shrubs their roots lifted clean out of the soil, I know I did, so we just have to look at it as an opportunity to do something different planting wise in the garden.

Planting Beds

March is really a great month for gardeners, it is just, go, go, go. It is light to work outside by 6.30 am as the darkness of winter is pushed back. It is now the time to get the garden beds into shape. To prepare herbaceous beds fork over the bare areas and mix in plenty of well-rotted manure or compost. Clear out any weeds. March is a good time for planting new hardy perennials as the soil is starting to warm up and this encourage growth.

For vegetables do not rush into planting as the ground is too cold for them but do start to chit your potatoes so you may get them in the ground by the end of the month.

Pruning

Prune buddleias as they flower on new growth, you can go to the bottom couple of buds, but only do this if the plant is free standing. Buddleia growing in a border need to be pruned higher up so the new growth will not be competing for light against other plants.

Cut lavatera back to promote summer blooms, make way for new growth by cutting out all the old woody sems. These are easy to grow plants and have a long season, you should see new green shoots developing from late March.

Train any new clematis stems as they will be stating to emerge from the soil. Last year’s flowering stems can be cut down to the base and as the weather warms up the shoots will grow rapidly and need to be trained to go through a neighbouring shrub or a support. Tie the stems in very gently but do not force them as they can break very easily.

Ivy can get congested, and this month is a good time to cut back, it can appear brutal trimming away the leaves until you see the basic stem network but, in a few weeks, new leaves will develop.

New shoots should be emerging from fuchsias at the base of old stems. Snip back the dead growth to allow new shoots to come through and the space to form a bushy plant. The tips of each shoot should be pinched out after forming 2 to 3 pairs of leaves to create a greater number of stems to carry more flowers.

Late winter (February or March) is often a good time for pruning roses, but you should check the individual rose profiles.

Lawns

Mowing is carried out mainly between March and October.

  • Over summer: On average for a conventional lawn, mow twice weekly, dropping to once a week or longer during periods of drought. Flower-rich lawns can be mown every four to six weeks. Long grassed lawns are best cut once or twice in the summer, usually not before June.
  • Over spring and autumn: For a conventional lawn mow once a week.
  • Dry and shady areas under trees may need less frequent mowing than areas in full sun with good moisture levels.
  • Never mow wet or frosty grass, as this can damage the turf and compact the soil. Wait until the lawn has dried out or defrosted,
  • If you are unsure of what height to use, the general guideline is never remove more than one-third of the leaf shoots in any one mow.

When to prune roses

When carrying out pruning cuts should be no more than 5mm (¼ in) above a bud and should slope downwards away from it, so that water does not collect on the bud.

  • If a dormant bud is not visible cut to the appropriate height.
  • The cuts must be clean, so keep your secateurs sharp. For larger stems, use loppers or a pruning saw
  • Cut out dead and diseased stems and spindly and crossing stems
  • Aim for well-spaced stems that allow free air flow
  • Trace suckers back to the roots from which they grow and pull them away

In containers

Most bulbs are ideal for growing in containers, but this especially suits those with large, showy flowers, such as tulips, lilies, arum lilies and alliums. Bulbs generally only spend one season in their container, a good mix to get the best from the bulbs is three parts multi-purpose compost with one part grit.

Plant at three times their depth and one bulb width apart

Water bulbs once after planting then regularly when in active growth

Primulas and hardy primroses are already in bloom and will brighten up garden pots immediately.