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I really do love March! As spring comes around again, we are reminded of the joy of birdsong, the smile a bunch of Daffodils bring and how that little touch of vitamin D is so good for the mind, body and soul. March is the month when the seed sowing truly begins and with all of that and after a long winter, perhaps March is the most hopeful month of the year. It’s a busy month for gardeners, as the lawn starts to grow, hedges and trees become full of blossom, and the longer days and lighter evenings allow for more time to watch birds finding nesting spaces in the hedgerows and trees, busily starting to build the place they will call home for a few months. I have Hawthorn hedging at the back of my allotment which is a joy for me and the birds, plus old apple trees with plenty of places for nests.
Perhaps your windowsills are full of seed trays like mine are – usually the seedlings that may need a little more care than the ones I leave in the greenhouse (who am I kidding, it’s really so I can just look at them every hour to see if they’ve germinated)! It’s definitely time to pull on your gardening gloves and get outside in the garden to enjoy some spring gardening jobs, keeping the ever-changing spring weather in mind.
If you’ve had lots of leaf fall, now is a good time to rake them into a pile to make leaf mulch. Store in leaf mulch bags or any kind of bag, covered over a pile that has some air holes in and placed in a sheltered spot until the leaves break down. Depending on the leaves and conditions, the mulch could be ready within three months up to a year. This kind of mulch is perfect to use around your garden plants. Leaf fall is nature’s way of replenishing the soil, so there’s no need to waste any of it.
It’s been a wet winter, so if you have pathways, patios or decking that need to be cleaned it’s time to get scrubbing! Cleaning them now will help to remove algae and slippery surfaces to make them safe for walking on for the season ahead. As you are cleaning, this will also give you a chance to see any damage and complete repairs before you spend more time outside in the garden.
If you have leaves and other debris in your guttering on your shed or greenhouse, give this a clean-out now, especially if your guttering is linked to a water butt. You’ll want every drop of water collected by summertime to water your garden with. I simply use a soft broom to sweep the leaves and twigs out and put them in the compost pile.
There is no better time to start weeding than in March! I start weeding at this time of year because it stops annual weeds running away with themselves and it’s generally easier to dig out perennial weeds now because there should be more space to do so before other plants start springing to life. It’s important to remove weeds from your beds and borders and under your hedging and trees to ensure there is no competition for water and nutrients, ensure better airflow and you can finish off with a good application of mulch. I hand weed or use a hoe for annual weeds by gently breaking the surface of the soil so they are easy to lift and I use a fork to dig up bigger perennial roots. If you keep on top of this job, it becomes so much easier over time.
I am very conscious of what ‘weeds’ I remove because many important plants are considered weeds (which they shouldn’t be in my opinion) such as the Dandelion. I leave these because they are an essential early nectar source for bees and the whole plant is edible and medicinal. So get to know your weeds and identify them correctly – Red Dead Nettle, Cleavers, Henbit and Chickweed are all commonly considered weeds but are in fact edible too and there are medicinal ‘weeds’ that can be used in all kinds of delicious spring recipes.
Don’t forget to paint fences on a sunny, dry day – not just for a dose of Vitamin D but also to get the job done before your plants start growing too big for you to get to your fence panels. Clean the BBQ so it’s ready for summer in the garden with friends and have a general tidy up of patio furniture and other gardening accessories.
March may be the last chance to prune many of your shrubs, hedging and perennials and is worth taking time to do to ensure your plants continue to thrive. This needs to be done before new growth, so it’s on the priority list if it hasn’t already been done.
These should be pruned after flowering and before new buds appear which will ensure flowering for the following year. These include Sarcococca, Holly and Viburnum bodnantense.
Prune these from January through to the end of March while they are still dormant. Pruning this group of plants will help to promote new, healthy spring growth. Some examples of what will need pruning are Buddleja davidii, Potentilla and Hydrangea paniculata.
Leaving perennial seed heads and stems over winter not only provides structure and interest to a winter garden but also food and shelter for insects. Now there is new growth and flowers in the garden, overwintering insects will be heading out to enjoy the spring weather and early nectar so now is a good time to cut back those perennials and see the new growth soon shooting through. Most can be cut back low and the material put into the compost bin.
Established Dogwood should be pruned now by first removing old, brown stems down to the base and then the leftover stems to about 6 inches above the ground. It’s also good practice to mulch plants after pruning. Keeping these pruned well will ensure you have all the gloriously colourful stems next winter. Cornus sanguinea ‘Midwinter Fire’ is my favourite and looks stunning planted with grasses in the background.
If you have decided to plant a new hedge, add a new tree or some interesting shrubs to your garden now is a great time to do any of these jobs. The good news is there are many options at this time of year:
On my allotment, I have plenty of trees and hedging which will all get a feed this month to help them along for the year ahead. Feeding is especially important if you have young, damaged or heavily pruned any of your plants. I tend to use some homemade compost and hoe that gently in around the soil surface but there are other organic options available also.
It might be time for the first cut of the year but don’t be tempted to cut it short just yet! Cut on a high setting and gradually lower the blades over the coming weeks. I prefer to leave mine a little longer because it helps to retain moisture and homes for insects. I am very happy to see Dandelions, Clover and other plants growing on the lawn and the bees buzzing around them enjoying the early nectar.
Aeration is key to a healthy lawn and while I would advise holding off on scarifying or any other lawn care jobs just yet, forking the lawn for aeration can be useful. I simply fork the lawn on a dry day and when there aren’t any frosts due.
As much as I really do love a garden full of wildflowers, a slightly longer lawn in places and I am not a formal type of gardener at all – I have a thing about straight lawn edges! In our old cottage garden slugs and snails used to congregate around the edges of the lawn where it wasn’t cut and then come out at night to munch the plants! So the lawn edging gets done in March – even before I mow the lawn. Simply use the edging tool to cut back the long grass which might be growing over pavements, stepping stones, borders or anywhere it could get slippery.
These aren’t technically pests since they have been re-categorised as a garden foe but even so, they will be heading for your new shoots and seedlings! Prevention rather than eradication is key so it’s time to be protecting plants with copper tape, rough surfaces they don’t like to slide over and coffee grounds at the ready. My favourite way to repel slugs and snails is a garlic water mix sprayed around the plants. In fact, I was told this by an award-winning Hosta grower! Boil two full bulbs of garlic in water in a large saucepan. Make sure the bulbs are soft enough to squish out as much juice as you can. Sieve the mixture so you have just the water which will be a little cloudy and store it in a cool, dry place. When you want to use it, dilute 2 tablespoons in 5 litres of water and spray over your plants weekly.
The Royal Horticultural Society recently announced the top ten garden diseases in 2023. Honey Fungus has been top of the list since 1995 so keep your eye out for white fungal growth on trees and woody perennial plants. The mushrooms tend to appear in Autumn but with the wet weather we’ve been having this year, it’s worth being vigilant. If left untreated the plants can die. The only way to get rid of Honey Fungus is to remove and destroy all material. There are plants that rarely succumb to honey fungus so when planning your garden it’s worth looking at plants such as Common Box, Pittosporum and Callicarpa along with many more and now is a great time to get them planted in your garden.
High on the list is apple and pear scab which forms marks on the fruit and unsightly foliage. Raking up leaves and ensuring good tree care is maintained is the best way to try and prevent the disease. However, it is airborne so the best approach is to plant fruit trees (now is the ideal time) which are resistant to the disease such as Apple ‘Discovery’.
Almost every year the growing tips of my Broad Beans get Aphids at this time of year. The good news is, they really don’t do a great deal of damage and are fairly easy to remove. If you keep a check on your plants as often as you can, you will spot infestations early on and can simply hose them off. A strong blast of water (not enough to take out your plants as well) will do the trick. Adding in some washing-up liquid is often used to control aphids and introduce beneficial insects as well. In my experience, creating a biodiverse garden full of natural predators is enough to keep infestations under control. It’s always a joy to watch Ladybirds and other garden friends enjoying what’s on offer in the garden and helping out by keeping the ecosystem in balance.
It’s the busiest time of year for seed sowing, so get your pots and seed cells ready to get sowing. Give them a clean with some warm soapy water and wash them down with a hose or in a bucket of clean water. This will make sure there aren’t any diseases or pests that have overwintered on your pots before you fill them with a good quality seed-sowing compost or peat-free multi-purpose compost. Depending on what you are sowing, each will require different depths of sowing and conditions so always read the seed packet which will give you the best advice for each.
At this time of year, most seeds will still need to be kept undercover and away from cold nights, surprise frosts (which in the UK can be through to May) and wet, windy weather. A greenhouse, cold frame or warm windowsill will do. I keep most of my seedlings in the greenhouse with some horticultural fleece nearby so they can be covered over on particularly cold nights. It’s important also to remember that some days can be quite sunny and warm, which means opening a vent or door will be needed – but don’t forget to close them again at night!
I have many perennials that are more than ready to be divided this year, so this is a big job for me to get on with as soon as possible! Clump-forming perennials can be divided by gently lifting with a garden form, shaking off as much excess soil as you can and splitting the plant with a fork, knife or spade. Plant the divisions straightaway and incorporate some well-rotted organic matter into the soil such as leaf mould, homemade compost or well-rotted manure. Divisions can also be potted if you want to grow some in pots and containers. Make sure you water them in well.
Probably the most popular of the late summer flowering plants, at least on social media, is the Dahlia. If you lifted your tubers to store over winter, now is the ideal time to take them out of storage, make sure there is no rot, give any straggly roots a trim and put them into a pot of peat-free multipurpose compost. They won’t survive a frost so keep them undercover somewhere such as a greenhouse. I leave my Dahlias in the ground with a heavy mulch over winter so they will stay tucked away a little longer. Norfolk is relatively dry over winter and the soil they are planted in is well drained.
It’s time to get summer flowering bulbs in the ground for lots of easy summer colour. I will be planting Gladioli, Lily and Liatris to grow alongside the many self-seeded annuals in the cut flower patch.
One of the main reasons I garden personally is for wildlife. It’s simply a joy watching birds nesting in the trees and hedging, lacewings hiding in the foliage, butterflies bathing in the flowers and bees drinking the nectar. I have a small wildlife pond which is usually home to a toad or two along with snails and as it is half filled with stones, in the heat of the summer it is also full of bees having a drink. During March make sure your bird feeders and baths are clean, safe and filled with food. Why not make a wildlife pond, even on a patio this can be done in a container filled with stones and pond plants, and put up nesting boxes and insect hotels to encourage more biodiversity to your space. Every little bit helps.
Happy spring!