After the winter, March is when gardening starts in earnest and one can only feel enthused to work outside as the days get longer and warmer.
The delights of spring will be popping out of the ground and unless it gets very cold, slugs will be on the march after anything new and juicy to munch so it’s a good idea to protect new growth being careful to use animal friendly deterrents.
Pots and tubs may need watering to keep moist (not wet) even at this time of year and may benefit from a top dressing of John Innes compost removing some of the old compost. A topping of grit will deter slugs. Keep winter pansies deadheaded regularly and they will carry on well into the spring.
Look at your perennials and if the clumps have become too large, lost their shape or are flowering poorly lift and divide them to give them a new lease of life. Ask your friends and neighbours if they would like a clump. Most of the plants in my garden have come from friends and family. When you have made a bit more room now is the time to plant summer flowering bulbs making sure they have good drainage.
Erect a wigwam and in mid March, plant sweet peas or plant plugs once they have been hardened off. Give all beds a weed and apply a mulch to control future weeds, this job saves hours of work when done early in the season. Cut back the old leaves of hellebores to prevent leaf spot and expose the wonderful new flowers. Alpines are apt to rotting around the neck but this can be prevented by a top dressing of grit or gravel. Prune bush and climbing roses.
Finally feed borders with a general-purpose fertilizer at the rate advised to give your garden a spring boost for their new growth.
Enjoy your outdoor space,
The Tidy Gardener
The delights of spring will be popping out of the ground and unless it gets very cold, slugs will be on the march after anything new and juicy to munch so it’s a good idea to protect new growth being careful to use animal friendly deterrents.
Pots and tubs may need watering to keep moist (not wet) even at this time of year and may benefit from a top dressing of John Innes compost removing some of the old compost. A topping of grit will deter slugs. Keep winter pansies deadheaded regularly and they will carry on well into the spring.
Look at your perennials and if the clumps have become too large, lost their shape or are flowering poorly lift and divide them to give them a new lease of life. Ask your friends and neighbours if they would like a clump. Most of the plants in my garden have come from friends and family. When you have made a bit more room now is the time to plant summer flowering bulbs making sure they have good drainage.
Erect a wigwam and in mid March, plant sweet peas or plant plugs once they have been hardened off. Give all beds a weed and apply a mulch to control future weeds, this job saves hours of work when done early in the season. Cut back the old leaves of hellebores to prevent leaf spot and expose the wonderful new flowers. Alpines are apt to rotting around the neck but this can be prevented by a top dressing of grit or gravel. Prune bush and climbing roses.
Finally feed borders with a general-purpose fertilizer at the rate advised to give your garden a spring boost for their new growth.
Enjoy your outdoor space,
The Tidy Gardener
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