spring preparation

March can be a fickle month, snow and blistering cold winds one week, sunshine and t-shirts the next, either way March heralds the arrival of spring which the busiest time for any gardener. For me there are three key things to get done in March, planning, preparing and pruning, and generally in that order:

Planning

March is a great time to plan ahead for the summer and not just what bedding you want, take some time to reflect on last year, perhaps look at some photos of your garden. What worked and what didn’t work so well. Last year I planted Kniphofia “Wrexham Buttercup” which never really showed themselves, I think they were too shaded so in my plan I’ll be moving them to a sunnier position.

Preparing

With my plan in hand I’m ready to start preparing. This year we’ll be moving the Kniphofias and other perennials as early as we can to avoid being caught out by the scorching springs we’ve had the last two years. I like to move foxglove seedlings into their final flowering location, you can do that in the autumn or early spring.

Then mulching the borders, to build up the humus in our very light and free draining soil. That’s why we compost all our autumn leaves to make leaf mould. Last year we had a surprise waiting for us at the bottom of one of the compost bins, a baby grass snake. The females lay their eggs in rotting vegetation in October, so we make sure not to disturb the bins too early.

Pruning

March is a good time to take stock of your trees and shrubs, and see how well they survived the winter. I remove broken or damage branches as quickly as I can to prevent further damage, I look out for old or diseased wood and any that’s crossing over. It’s a good time to re-shape older shrubs always cutting above an outward bud with an angled cut to prevent rain sitting in the wound. On young trees I like to keep the trunk clear to encourage a good shaped canopy.

 My favourite plants this month

Euphorbias bring a refreshing splash of colour in our woodland rockery

Hellebores, we inherited a wonderful dark purple almost black variety that makes a spectacular display each spring

Jobs I’ll be doing this month

• Cutting back our evergreen ferns or perennials like penstemons.

• Rejuvenating grasses by cutting back or raking through.

• Tackling the weeds that have managed find a home this winter.

• Re-edging the lawn in parts by cutting sections out and then turning them round to create a new clean straight edge.