Getting busy in March’s garden
It’s now Meteorological spring which started on 1st March and the weather is certainly much better and improving. In our part of Lincolnshire (NW) we’ve had several nights of frost followed by fine and sunny days, which has allowed us to finally get out to do some proper gardening and I’ve even topped the lawn! However, I’m still a believer in Astronomical spring which this year starts on the 20th March. I think that stems from my training as a young gardener, but I have to admit when you get a beautiful sunny day in early March, it definitely feels spring-like. On the other hand, if it were cold and wet, it would feel like winter! I don’t suppose there is a right or wrong – we just have to go with what mother nature throws at us!
As well as trying to get as much gardening done as possible, which includes preparing and planting some new beds, laying a path and erecting new fencing, Jill and I are also preparing for the 2025 show season. The Potting Shed stage is being prepared to take on tour to a selection or shows and events across the country where Jill and I are joined by guests and specialist growers to give talks and demonstrations.
March 28-30 – RHS Harlow Carr Spring Gardening Weekend
April 24-27 – Harrogate Spring Flower Show – Grow stage
May 8-11 – RHS Malvern Spring Festival
June 18-19 – Lincolnshire Show
June 20-22 – RHS Harlow Carr Summer Gardening Weekend
July 1-6 – RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival
July 8-11 – Great Yorkshire Show
July 16-29 – RHS Flower Show Wentworth Woodhouse (new for 2025)
July 25-27 – Chorley Flower Show
July 30 – Aug 3 – RHS Hyde Hall Garden Show
August 14-17 – Southport Flower Show
September 6-7 RHS Harlow Carr Taste of Autumn
September 19-21 – Harrogate Autumn Flower Show (Newby Hall)
As always, we’d be delighted to see you if you are planning a visit to any of the shows.
Jobs for March
Spring bulbs are a little later this year (Taylors Bulbs from South Lincs say around 4 weeks later than last year) so when your snowdrops finish flowering, large clumps can be lifted and divided to spread them around the garden. It also helps to rejuvenate tired plants.
Finish cutting down herbaceous perennials and deciduous grasses before new growth starts from the base.
As lawns start to show signs of growth, give them a light trim to take off the tufty growth, which will encourage new growth from the base of the plants.
Plant up a colourful spring container with a selection of flowering plants, evergreens and bulbs in pots.
Roses can be pruned now that the buds are starting to break. Start by cutting out any dead wood, then prune out weak and spindly shoots. Finally, cut back the main stems by half on shrub roses and three quarters on HT’s and floribunda roses.
Cornus and willows grown for their colourful stems can be hard pruned to encourage new growth that will have bright colours for next winter. I normally wait until around the middle of the month to do this so that we can enjoy them for a couple more weeks.
The soil temperature in my veg plot is 5oc (40oF), which is a little on the cool side for sowing and planting but now is a good time to get the soil prepared by weeding and lightly forking in some garden compost.
If you have a few chitted potatoes, plant some in large pots and keep them protected from frost in a greenhouse or conservatory to start them into early growth.
Again, from mid-March if the ground is drying out and warming up, I will start to plant my shallots and onion sets into the garden.
Sow tomato seeds into small pots of compost and stand them in a warm place to germinate, such as a windowsill propagator. If sown in mid-March, they will produce plants for planting into a cold greenhouse in early May.
Feed rhubarb with a granular fertiliser such as poultry pellets or Growmore to give it a boost in growth.
Kings Seeds from Essex are once again offering followers of Pots & Trowels (videos & podcast) a 10% discount on seeds purchased form the website www.kingsseeds.com by quoting the code PT2025. It’s valid until the end of 2025. (T&C’s apply)
For more weekly gardening tips and advice, you can watch our gardening videos “Pots & Trowels” on Facebook or subscribe on YouTube for free. And don’t forget our weekly P&T podcast where we chat to gardening guests, give a few jobs for the week and answer your gardening questions. Available through your normal podcast provider or listen on www.potsandtrowels.com
Happy gardening