March is really the month that gardeners start to get busy.  Spring is coming and with hopefully more sunny days it is time to start preparing seed beds, sowing seed, cutting back winter shrubs and generally tidying the garden up. Have a good sweep up and prepare for the months ahead.

Planting Beds

It is light to work outside by 6.30 am. 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 encourages growth.

Lift and divide overgrown clumps of perennials. Daylilies, chrysanthemums, hostas and coreopsis are easy to divide and transplant whilst they are still semi-dormant. Lift clumps with a fork and make clean cuts with a sharp knife or sharp spade.

Daylilies

Top dress containers with fresh compost. Primulas and hardy primroses are already in bloom and will brighten up garden pots  immediately, whilst waiting for the main show of the pot to come through. Spring bedding is now available at most garden centres

Many Late summer flowering deciduous shrubs can be pruned such as buddleia, hydrangea paniculata, lavatera perovskia and hardy fuchsia.

perovskia-blue-spire-russian-sage

Train any new clematis stems as they will be starting 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. 

Hardy annuals can be sown outside where they are to flower, do not enrich the soil with fertiliser as they do best in “poorer soil”.  Half-hardy annuals (these grow, flower and set seed and die all in one year)  such as cosmos, nicotiana and zinnia are best sown indoors and then planted out into fertile soil when the risk of frost has passed, as unlike hardy annuals they cannot withstand low temperatures.

Perennials to plant in March  are the beautiful Aquilegia and the very giving campanula.

Aquilegia Mrs Scott Elliott

Shade Planting

Adding new perennials to provide colour in shady areas. Choose plants with a long season of interest including spreading epimedium, pulmonaria, Bergenia and wood spurge. For impact plant in large groups. Soil can be dry in these shaded areas so before planting dig in plenty of water retentive compost.

Vegetables

March is the time to start growing broad beans. You can sow seeds outside in Spring, but I prefer to start them off in a pot and plant outside about 6 weeks later when the roots will have filled the pot. Plant about 20 cms apart and water well. You will need to stake the taller varieties to stop them collapsing hopefully from the large number of beans they will produce. It is advisable to cover the sown area with netting to protect them from birds.  If you want to eat the beans in their pods pick them when they are about 6cms long. To eat them shelled wait until you can see the pods bulging with beans.

Broad Beans

For potatoes 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.

Sowing seeds including chillies and tomatoes and placing them in a greenhouse or on a warm windowsill will give them a long growing season.

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.

Fruit

  • Last chance to plant bare-root fruit trees and ideally plant container-grown ones too.
  • Plant strawberry runners.