🌱 March in the Garden: Spring into Action!
Ah, March—when the garden begins to wake up from its winter slumber and everything smells like spring is on the way. Daffodils nod, buds swell, and birds are busily house-hunting in hedges and trees. It’s a month full of promise—and yes, quite a few jobs to get stuck into!
Here’s theMarch gardening to-do list to help your garden flourish through spring and beyond.
🧤 General Jobs
✅ Tidy up winter damage
Clear away dead stems, soggy leaves, and broken branches. Cut back dead perennial growth and rake up leaf litter to prevent slugs setting up camp.
✅ Weeding begins now
Weeds are opportunists! Remove them while they’re small to save yourself a big headache later. A hoe on a dry day is your best friend.
✅ Mulch, mulch, mulch
Spread a 5cm layer of well-rotted compost or manure around your plants—especially perennials and shrubs. It feeds the soil, conserves moisture, and suppresses weeds.
✅ Check tools and equipment
Clean your tools, sharpen your secateurs, and check that the lawnmower starts. Fix it now—before the first sunny weekend has everyone scrambling to the shed.
🌼 Flowers
🌸 Sow hardy annuals
Direct sow hardy annuals like calendula, cornflowers, and poppies outdoors from mid-March, or start them in trays under cover.
🌸 Plant summer-flowering bulbs
Now’s the time to plant bulbs like dahlias, lilies, and gladioli. If the ground’s too soggy, start them in pots under cover.
🌸 Prune roses
If you haven’t done this yet, prune hybrid teas and floribundas now. Cut just above an outward-facing bud and remove any crossing or weak stems.
🌸 Divide perennials
Clumps of perennials like hostas, daylilies, and asters can be lifted and divided before they put on too much growth.
🥕 Fruit & Veg
🥬 Sow under cover
Start tomatoes, chillies, aubergines, and cucumbers indoors. You can also sow salad leaves, beetroot, and peas in trays or modules.
🥕 Sow outdoors (weather permitting)
If the soil is workable (not waterlogged or frozen), you can sow carrots, parsnips, and onions. Warm the soil first with cloches or fleece if it's still chilly.
🍓 Plant soft fruit
Bare-root strawberries, raspberries, currants, and gooseberries can still go in. Give them a good mulch and water well.
🥔 Chit your potatoes
If you haven’t already, set your seed potatoes in a cool, bright place to sprout. Aim to plant first earlies late March (weather depending).
🌳 Trees, Shrubs & Lawns
🌿 Plant new shrubs and trees
Still time to plant bare-root and container-grown shrubs and trees while they're dormant.
✂️ Prune shrubs
Finish pruning winter-flowering shrubs like mahonia and viburnum once flowering ends. Also prune back dogwood and willow grown for colourful stems.
🌱 Lawn care begins
Rake out moss and thatch, edge the borders neatly, and sow grass seed in bare patches. Once it starts growing, give your lawn its first gentle mow with the blade set high.
🐝 Wildlife Corner
🌼 Encourage pollinators
Plant early-flowering plants like hellebores, pulmonaria, and crocuses to give emerging bees a welcome snack.
🐦 Clean and refill bird boxes
If you're putting up new boxes, do it now! Birds are already scouting for nests. Also scrub bird feeders and baths to prevent disease.
🌦️ Final Thought
March is a month of change—bright days, wild winds, and surprise frosts. So watch the weather forecast, wear layers, and enjoy the feeling that warmer, greener days are just around the corner. The garden’s waking up—don’t miss the moment! - the rain will be coming.
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