A mild winter has seen March blend into February almost prematurely. Gardens are springing into life with bold and vibrant colour, as an array of heart warming spring bulbs put on their joyful displays.
It is easy to imagine that Spring has almost sprung, but as I write this I remain aware that a cold snap could quickly appear. Although day time temperatures have been touching 14 degrees Celsius, sharp frosts have still arrived on clear nights.
Make the most of the good days, and breaks in the weather, and take every opportunity to get out into the garden. It won’t be long before the garden’s job list begins to put you through your paces and stretch the amount of hours you have available to you in a day.
As is often the case, a mild winter is usually predominantly wet. A wet March can be an issue, as March is usually the month in which people fire up their lawn mowers. I would say don’t feel under pressure to commence lawn mowing - as it is very easy to do more harm than good if the ground is too wet. Grass may be looking long, but it can soon be tamed once you do start, with a series of cuts starting from the very highest setting, gradually lowering the cutting deck each cut.
Avoid trying to cut to your desired height in one go, and remember the rule of thumb of always trying to remove no more than a third of the height each time.
When mowing, you may notice a layer of thatch appearing through the grass. This can be removed either by raking, if you have a small area, or by a propelled scarifier. If you have problems with moss, and you intend on treating the moss, make sure you scarify after any treatment - as you will only end up spreading the moss.
Sticking with lawns, now is a good time to re-shape any edges that have crumbled or broken. A new edge creates a crisp frame for a border, and it is far easier to do it now than when rambling bedding comes spilling out onto the lawn.
There can be a lot of pruning to do at this time of year, and unless you’ve been ahead of the game, make sure you take the time to now prune any shrub and bush roses you may have. Don’t be tempted to prune ramblers yet, unless major renovation is required. Instead, prune them after they have flowered, so that you don’t lose this year’s flowers.
The ornamental coloured stems of shrub willows and dogwoods provide excellent winter colour, and to achieve the best of these vibrant colours, now is the time to prune the stems. Prune them down to one or two buds from the growth of last year, and you should be left with a stout framework - from where the new, colourful shoots will appear.
By now you should also look to have finished pruning any late flowering shrubs, such as Buddleja davidii.
If you left any of the architectural seedheads and stems of perennials over winter, take them down now, as you need to provide the plant with the space to grow. Plant any new, hardy perennials you wish to add to your garden, and lift and divide any summer flowering perennials that have become overgrown.
Inevitably, daffodil flowers will begin to fade, and as they do so, make sure you deadhead them - whilst leaving the foliage untouched. Leaving the fading flower in place results in the plant focusing on producing seeds, rather than sending its energy to the bulb to create a new flower for next year.
Staying with bulbs, lift and divide any snowdrops whilst they are still in the green, and start planting your summer flowering bulbs for a summer long succession.
In the edible garden, if you haven’t already, prepare your seedbeds. Create a fine tilth and then apply and rake in an organic fertilizer roughly a fortnight before you plan on sowing.
Look to harden off any earlier sown vegetables by placing them in a slightly colder environment. This period of limbo should last a week or two, and will ensure that being planted out comes as less of a shock to their systems.
If the ground is warming, you can look to start sowing fine seeded vegetables and salad crops, such as lettuce and radish. You can also now look to plant early potatoes and onion sets. There are many ways to plant seed potatoes, but a traditional way is to make a drill about 6 inches deep, and plant them with their shoots upwards, at intervals of around 12 inches. Onion sets can go in, spaced about 5 inches apart, in rows which are also around 5 inches apart. The tip is to plant the sets with a trowel, rather than to push them in, as this provides more space for the roots to develop - without then pushing the set out of the ground.
Hardy herbs, such as chives and coriander, can also now be sown outside in the same manner as vegetables. You can grow them in a separate herb garden, or if space is limited, in the midst of your borders with other plants.
Continue to prick out and pot on any young plants and seedlings you may have, and remember to shade these tender plants on particularly bright days.
Half hardy annuals, such as marigolds, can now be sown. Keep them in a propagator until the first two true leaves appear. Towards the end of the month tomatoes, aubergines and peppers can also be sown.
The juxtaposition that occurs this time of year between the delicate flush of Spring and the brutality of the tail end of winter is something to be marvelled at - and is at times poetical, symbolising the pertinent theme in life. Gardens lend themselves to poetry, and vice versa, and this time, I leave you with a famous verse of William Wordsworth:
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Daffodils, William Wordsworth
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