Jobs to do in March

Flower/Plants

• Prune rose bushes
• Trim winter-flowering heathers
• Lift and divide congested clumps of snowdrops and buy new ones `in the green’
• Prune winter jasmine after flowering

Fruit/Vegetables

• Force rhubarb
• Sow leeks and onions in a heated propagator
• Start spraying outdoor peach and nectarine leaves to prevent peach-leaf curl
• Sprinkle fertiliser around fruit trees and bushes

Greenhouse

• Pot up summer bulbs
• Feed winter-flowering pot plants
• Continue sowing seed of summer bedding plants
• Bring strawberries in pots under cover for early crops

General

• Build a compost heap
• Cut back any overgrown ivy
• Check borders for weeds and tackle any problem areas
• Spread mulches of bark or compost over flower-beds

Related Articles

It is always best to plant Snowdrops “in the green”, that is; when they are still in leaf and even flower. In the green is also the best time to divide congested clumps and replant around you garden.

Flower/Plants

Take root cuttings from perennials
Move shrubs growing in the wrong place
Spread a mulch over your borders
Pot up containers with bedding displays for spring

Fruit/Vegetables

Force Rhubarb
Check fruits in store, removing any that show signs of rot
Prune apples and pears to remove damaged or diseased branches
Cover soil with polythene to protect it from rain
Plant new fruit trees, cane [...]

In the Flower Garden: Plant bare-root roses, trees and shrubs Prune standard roses Take hardwood cuttings from shrubs Remove dead stems and leaves from perennials Tidy grasses

In the Vegetable Garden: Fork over empty beds and mix in compost Plant fruit trees Prune Gooseberry bushes Warm up beds for early crops Tie raspberry and blackberry canes [...]

I have chosen six plants which you should be able to easily find in your local garden centre and that are easy to grow. Most need little attention throughout the year but keep the Dogwoods well pruned to maintain the lovely coloured stems and prune the winter flowering jasmineafter flowering to ensure flowers for the following year.

I recently made marmalade from the fruit on my Calamondine plant; click here for the details, but at this time of the year there are lots of produce in your garden which can be preserved. Here are a few recipes to get you going:

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Calamondine is probably the most hardy citrus tree available in the UK and due to it’s small size makes an ideal citrus tree for any home. They also make great Christmas present particularly if they are in fruit.

With the summers days having come to a close and the autumn winds getting evermore brisk, the time has come to get our gardens ready for winter so they don’t get damaged by wind, rain and snow.

I want to encourage butterflies in my garden and have a patch of nettles. At which time of the year is it best to trim the nettles as they do spread about a bit and I don’t want to ruin the butterflies by chopping the nettles down at the wrong time of year for them?

Autumn is an important season for taking care of your lawn. It is important to use the last months of the growing season to strengthen and prepare the lawn for the rigours of winter. The effort put into a lawn in autumn will improve the quality and health of the lawn right through into the [...]

Spring Flowering Bulbs come in lots of shapes, sizes and colours but the one thing they have in common is the ability to turn a dull late winter, early spring garden into an oasis of light and colour. No garden is complete without the good old daffodil or tulip but there are many other spring flowering bulbs which will add additional interest.

Autumn can be a lovely time of year but the work involved in clearing up all the dropped leaves can be a chore each year. However, there is a benefit to be had – they make a fabulous free source of organic matter.

Chafer grubs are the larvae of the chafer beetle. They can cause problems on any grassed area including lawns by feeding on the roots of grass plants. The adults range from 9 to 39 mm in length and have different coloured heads and wings cases. The adults emerge between the end of May and July depending on the weather conditions in spring. They may feed on shrubs and trees before laying the eggs into grassed areas.

Tall, upright plants and structures add an extra element of interest to any garden. Trees and large shrubs are an excellent way of gaining height but they do take up a lot of room and take many years to reach their full size. A quick and easy solution is to use obelisks, arches, pergolas and trellises to grow climbing and rambling plants.

Mowing
As temperatures hot up and we move into summer the growth of your lawn may actually start to slow down, mow as and when necessary never taking more than one third of the length of the plant off in any one cut. As always a sharp mower is essential. If temperatures become very hot your [...]

If you love to grow gooseberrys you will know the frustration of the gooseberry sawfly whose larvae can strip the leaves of gooseberry bushes.

Hanging baskets are a wonderful way of adding colour to your garden, particularly if you have a paved garden or yard. Hanging baskets also add height and make the most of the smallest of spaces.

Our Plant of the Month Papaver orientale or Oriental Poppy produces delicate flowers from May to July above bristly, grey-green leaves. The flower colours vary from white, through pink to red. They are a fast-growing plant and easy to grow, the pale papery flowers contrast especially well with purple foliage plants such as Heuchera.