March - The Arrival of Spring!  

• Clean any wounds on trees caused by damage from Storm Eunice - a clean cut will help prevent infection

• Hardy annuals can be sown outside where they are to flower, or you can sow in trays undercover or in a sheltered spot.  

• Sow vegetables that require a long growning season, such as Chillis, in a propagator or warm window sill

• Finish cutting back all dead tops of perennials to make way for the new growth.  This includes cutting back the old growth of Penstemons.

• Shrubs grown for winter colour of their stems such as Cornus should be cut back (stooled) now 

• Mow lawns when necessary, but raise the cutter height so as not to remove too much of the blade for the first few cuts.  Dedicated moss treatments or combination treatments of moss and spring ‘weed and feed’ can be applied towards the end of the month

• Divide congested perennials - wait until the first signs of growth then lift and split, discarding the dead or woody centre of the clump and replant the younger vigorous parts from around the edges

• If you have any indoor bulbs (hyacinth, amaryllis, narcissi) that have finished flowering, move these to a very sheltered outdoor area or ideally a cold frame or unheated greenhouse and continue to water and feed until the leaves die down naturally in a few months’ time

• Ventilate greenhouses on warmer or sunnier days if you are overwintering plants or perhaps give it a pre-Spring clean inside and out and ensure that the glass is clean to allow as much light in as possible