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What To Do In The Garden In March

March 5, 2019 By Jill Anderson 2 Comments

We’re teetering on the edge of Spring here in the South-East of England. The days are getting longer, & there’s more bird song around, it really is a time to be savoured.

What To Do In The Garden In March- white & purple crocus flowers under a tree

A spread of crocus in the grass at Great Dixter

Its also a time to have plans in place & be getting ready for the garden bursting into life.

Checking seed packets is one of the best things to do, all that promise in a little packet. But be ruthless & discard any packets that are out of date. It’s most disheartening to put all that effort into sowing only for germination to be sparse & have to repeat the whole process, I speak from experience. So harden your heart & use your time well.

Do some gentle hoeing to de-capitate weeds. Its so much easier when they’re small & their roots haven’t got a deep hold in the soil. I say gentle, because you need to keep a careful look out for self-seeded plants from last year that you want to keep.

Cut deciduous grasses back to allow the new growth through, green shoots will already have started, but they’ll romp away when the old growth has gone.

If you have space, its a good idea to stand on boards, moving them around as you progress. This stops the soil becoming compacted, making a big difference to the health of the soil, especially if its clay.

great dixter garden,

Fergus Garrett at Great Dixter is a big fan of using boards to work from in the borders.

Finish pruning roses, & Clematis viticella as soon as you can, they’ll be springing into growth & some of it will have to be cut off if you leave it too late.

The Vegetable Garden

Check the plan of what you’re going to grow & make sure you have all the seeds you need.

Cover beds with fleece or cloche tunnels to warm up the soil ready for planting later. It makes a substantial difference making the transfer of small plants fro a greenhouse or cold-frame to the big outdoors.

dill seedlings in the cold-frame

Dill seedlings, I love these for their vivid acid green flowers.

courgette seed packets

what's growing at the allotment this year, seed packets, Kings seeds,

Start sowing seeds outside at the end of the month if the soil is warm enough where you live. Small, new weeds are the best indication that the soil has reached the right temperature. Cover newly sown seeds with a cloche to give them some protection. Rocket & salad leaves are good ones to start with, just sow a few & see how they go, it is nice to make a start.

I’ll start sowing courgette, runner beans, beetroot squash in my cold greenhouse or the cold-frame, at the end of this month. This way I can control their environment & they get going more quickly. I’ll sow a few seeds then wait a week or two before sowing more, just in case the weather turns cold or its very cloudy.

Eventually this will happen:

What To Do In The Garden In March - abox of vegetables & flowers grown in the garden, orange marigold & blue borage flowers.

What To Do In The Garden In March- coloured beetroots at the allotment

If you want Gardening Shows for inspiration, The RHS Spring Show is on from the 8th April in London at The Royal Horticultural Halls, information here.

And while we don’t hold with wishing our time away, can I just remind you that British Summertime begins on 31st March.

Jill

all photos: Jill Anderson

Related posts:

What to do in your garden in September, hedge, www.growingnicely.co.uk, HedgeWhat to do in your garden in September Covent Garden Flower Market London, wedding flowers,Friday gardening favourites. What To Do In The Garden In August. What To Do In The Garden In March

Related posts:

What to do in your garden in September, hedge, www.growingnicely.co.uk, HedgeWhat to do in your garden in September Covent Garden Flower Market London, wedding flowers,Friday gardening favourites. What To Do In The Garden In August. What To Do In The Garden In March
Filed Under: Blog, Gardening, Growing Food, Plants Tagged With: what to do in the garden in March

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Comments

  1. Julie quinn says

    March 6, 2019 at 7:15 am

    Very encouraging and all good advice. Thanks. Just what I need.

    Reply
    • Jill Anderson says

      March 9, 2019 at 11:18 am

      You’re welcome Julie, enjoy you’re garden!

      Reply

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Hello, I’m Jill Anderson.
This is where you’ll find good, solid information about gardening, growing fruit & vegetables and how to keep it all looking good.
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The healing, calming power of nature in one photo. The healing, calming power of nature in one photo.
These wonderful autumn colours won’t be around for much longer. But that’s ok, because now is what matters, & their fleeting beauty makes them even more precious.
It’s easy to see how being among trees & nature is so beneficial for our health & wellbeing. 
Have a great Sunday.
Savouring all the autumn colour, & doesn’t it lo Savouring all the autumn colour, & doesn’t it look spectacular with this bold front door.
Today has been hard work, after a lovely time last week in Norfolk. The north coast there is spectacular. Realising these last few months, that there are so many beautiful places here. 
Have a nice evening.
Charming glasshouse at Houghton Hall, Norfolk. Vis Charming glasshouse at Houghton Hall, Norfolk. Visiting to see the Anish Kapoor sculptures, which are amazing, but unprepared for the beauty of the grounds & garden. 
Such a treat, worth coming to Norfolk for this alone!
Hope you’re keeping well, & managing to smile some of the time. x
P.S. more of Houghton Hall & Anish Kapoor on my stories
We stopped off on the way home to pick blackberrie We stopped off on the way home to pick blackberries, after coffee & cake, sitting in the churchyard - the cafe was full, & the churchyard is a quiet, peaceful spot..... as you’d expect.
-
One little advantage of lockdown is walking so much more, rather than using the car. Though it shouldn’t have taken something as momentous as this, for me to change bad habits 🙁
Hope you’re weekend is going well.
My hazel arch, a bit lopsided 🙄 using wood from My hazel arch, a bit lopsided 🙄 using wood from a random clump of hazel on the garden. Now looking much better covered in winter squash plants, so you can’t see just how ramshackle it is. I like to think it has a certain home-spun charm .

Great for small space gardening, imagine how much room you need to grow these without vertical supports.

I’ve got 2 Uchiki kuri, lovely nutty flavour.
1 Turks turban, for its flamboyant shape & colours, though it also tastes good.
One unknown, grown by my grandsons in their homeschooled science lesson.
Close-ups of the squash over on my stories.
Stay cool my friends x
I wanted to show you this lovely lily ( Lilium reg I wanted to show you this lovely lily ( Lilium regale) which is flowering right outside our bedroom window. 
It gets sun for about 4 hours only, you can order the bulbs now for planting in September. It’ll reappear every year & waft delicious scent around your garden, or through your windows.
Have a very happy Monday x
It’s British Flower Week, there’s a lot to be It’s British Flower Week, there’s a lot to be said for fabulous seasonal flowers that haven’t travelled thousands of miles ...... & are wonderful for biodiversity
A bit of rain, nice long days (it’s almost mid-s A bit of rain, nice long days (it’s almost mid-summer!) & it’s, mostly, all growing nicely.

Spinach, courgettes & garlic in shot here. 
Enjoy the rest of your Sunday x
Hope is a decision I’ve thought long & hard abou Hope is a decision
I’ve thought long & hard about how to view the tumult in the world we’re living in now. 
The only thing that works for me, is to choose hope.

It’s a tall order, but avoiding mainstream news & speculation helps avoid the anxiety, that’s often waiting in the wings.

One day soon there’ll be grandchildren clambering over this again.
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