March Decorative Gardening...

The Decorative Gardener's Diary - March in the UK garden

The weather can be unpredictable during March in the UK. It can be sunny one day, and snowing the next, so be prepared! Sometimes March can be a very wet season, and if the soil gets too waterlogged, the germination of seeds may be a problem.

March is the time to:

Prepare:

- Fork over flower beds to refresh them, being careful not to damage the roots of any nearby plants

- Rake over soil if laying a new lawn, which is to be grown from seed

Sow outdoors in open ground:

• Peony
• Lupins
• Delphiniums
• Hardy perennials

Plant:

• Deciduous shrubs and climbers
• Ranunculus
• Anenome corms
• Gladioli

Prune after flowering:

• Jasminum nudiflorum (Winter Jasmine)
• Chimonanthus (Wintersweet)
• Hamamelis (Witch Hazel)

Things to do:


- Lift hardy perennials, such as Heleniums, monardas and phlox. Divide and replant into new positions

- Try not to disturb oriental poppies or paeonies

- Prune established bush and climbing roses. Cut away any dead or diseased wood

- Renew ties on climbing plants

- Roll the lawn and trim the edges. Rake out moss

- If the weather is mild enough, give the lawn it's first trim of the year. Make sure that the blade is set to the highest position

- Replace Pansies, Wallflowers, Forget-me-nots and Siberian wallflowers if they failed over the winter months. Fill in any gaps

- Feed hedges with well rotted farmyard manure or fertilizer

- Inspect any shooting shrubs for frost damage. Prune by cutting back to sound wood if necessary

- If the weather permits, start to sow hardy annuals