Blog

Gardeners Month March

March is named after the mythical Roman God Mars who was their God of War.
He was also regarded as the guardian of agriculture.
March is the first month of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and with it comes more daylight hours and things start to warm up and plants wake from there winter slumber.
In Saxon the month of March was none as Lentmonat named after the March equinox and the gradual lengthening of days and this is the namesake of Lent.

Spring arrives during this month and with extra daylight and frequent sunny days there is an increasing number of things to be doing.

This month will see a profusion of spring flowering bulbs and shrubs to brighten the garden and bring joy after the long cold dark winter.
Shrubs like Forsythia with its stunning bright yellow flowers and early flowering cherry trees bursting into blossom with urgency are a welcome sight.
The true herald of Spring is the March birth flower the Daffodil, nothing looks as good as large swathes and clumps of their nodding yellow heads blowing in the breeze. What a sight.
No wonder Wordsworth put down in poetry how marvellous they are.

The latter part of this month sees the clocks go forward lengthening day light hours so now you can spend more time  in  your garden. If you have been sitting in the armchair most of the winter and have a sudden urge to spring into action.

Take things gently at first. Ease yourself back into the tasks ahead.
Jobs such as heavy digging should be done in short spells of maybe half an hour then switch to another job a bit lighter in task with less bending.
No point in hurting ones back so early on just as the season is about to get under way.

This can be a fickle month weather wise.
Clear blue sky and sunshine which can suddenly  change to wintry showers of sleet and snow within a half hour or so.
When the weather is good there are plenty of things to be getting on with such as the preparation of seed beds for sowing hardy annuals and vegetables.
Start early sowings under the polythene sheets which were laid out in February to help warm the soil in readiness for planting.
The soil will be that bit warmer catching the early sunlight and building the heat up in the soil which will get you off to good start.
If you are fortunate to have a greenhouse it is time to start sowings of half hardy annuals also tomatoes cucumber and courgette.
Deciding when to start sowing outside this month will depend very much on what the weather conditions are like.
As we are in the northern part of the country it may be wise to wait until the latter part of the month before starting in earnest.

While walking around the garden look for little jobs to do which can make a big difference such as weeds germinating in and around cultivated plants.
Get the hoe out early on a sunny dry day and once hoed off they will soon shrivel and die in the drier conditions.
Digging out any perennial weeds while still small makes them easier to control.it is amazing what 20 minutes time in the garden can make.
Prune back any winter damage on roses and give them a feed and a mulch to keep moisture and warmth in the soil will get them off to a good start.

If you haven’t already done so get the lawnmower serviced and checked over. There is nothing worse than trying to cut a lawn with a blunt mower which rather than cuts cleanly tears at the blades of grass leaving a ragged disease prone untidy lawn which doesn’t look good and harms the grass.
You also don’t want to be spending precious time trying to start a mower which stubbornly refuses to get going when you need it.

March is a month where you can get going using the extra daylight  and increasing the jobs you can do so as to make major improvements in the coming months to the look and appearance of your garden.
It will also help you shed a few of those extra pounds you have put on over the winter and also improve your physical and mental wellbeing.

JOBS FOR THE MONTH.
PRUNE BUSH AND SHRUB ROSES.
MULCH BARE SOIL IN BEDS AND BORDERS.
LIFT AND DIVIDE LARGE CLUMPS OF PERENNIALS.
SPLIT POLYANTHUS AFTER FLOWERING.
PLANT SUMMER FLOWERING BULBS.
SOW SWEET PEAS OUTDOORS AND PLANT OUT ANY OVER WINTERD SOWINGS.
SOW HARDY ANNUALS WHERE YOU WANT THEM TO FLOWER.
RE SEED ANY BARE PATCHES ON THE LAWN
MAKE SURE THE LAWNMOWER IS CLEAN SERVICED AND READY TO USE.
START MOWING THE LAWN KEEP A HIGH SETTING ON THE CUTTER.
SOW VEGETABELS OUTSIDE.
PLANT EARLY POTATOES AND ASPARAGUS.
SOW HALF HARDY ANNUALS,TOMATOES,COURGETTES AND CUCUMBER IN THE GREENHOUSE.
KEEP VEG PATCH AND FLOWER BORDERS FREE OF WEEDS.
LAST CHANCE TO PLANT BARE ROOT TREES AND SHRUBS.
LATEST TIME YOUCAN PLANT SNOWDROPS AND WINTER ACONITES.
Finally star plants to look for this month are Chionodoxa forbesii, Prunus sargentii, Narcissus ‘Dutch master’ ,Crocus vernus ‘Pickwick’, Forsythia x intermedia and one of the old favourites Primula Gold lace