SPRING HAS SPRUNG!
THE days are getting longer and warmer now and colour is building in the early spring garden.
March is a month of digging and sowing and a time to get busy preparing seed beds, cutting back
winter shrubs and generally tidying up.
In addition to getting vegetable and flower seeds started in the greenhouse or undercover, you
can also sow hardy seeds outside into their final positions … depending on where you live in the UK.
Your garden’s climatic conditions will affect when you sow and plant out. In the south that’s going
to be March, but the further north you live it will be early or even late April, dependent on frost.
Leaving behind the slightly subdued colours of winter, March brings a pop of colour to the garden,
and a smile to the face, as spring bulbs burst into bloom. There are carpets of crocuses, masses of
golden daffodils and, as the month progresses, the first jewel-like tulips start to appear. Some
daffodils might be coming to the end of their flowering period, in which case a bit of deadheading
will keep bulbs healthy and if you let the leaves yellow and wither naturally, they will return
nutrients to the bulb. If the weather turns dry, daffodils will benefit from watering, and if they are
growing in pots, feed weekly with a potassium-rich fertiliser such as tomato feed. Favourite varieties
include Narcissus ‘February Gold’ that has early bright-yellow flowers in February; Narcissus
‘Fragrant Rose’ with a scented, soft pink daffodil flower that appears in April; and Narcissus ‘Tete-a-
Tete’ the much loved miniature with bright yellow trumpet flowers that show in March and April.
Another colourful addition, albeit more subtle, is bronze fennel. Unlike standard Florence fennel,
bronze fennel – Foeniculum vulgare ‘Purpureum’– will not form a bulb, but with its aromatic fern-
like bronzed foliage, pretty small yellow flowers and slightly aniseed scent it is a magnet for
pollinators such as bees and butterflies. This plant ticks all the boxes for a garden all-rounder. It’s
edible and a fast grower and pops up in spring after dying back in winter reaching a height and
spread of around 2m x 1m. It can sit happily among the thyme and rosemary in a sunny herb
garden, or be planted in an ornamental border. The seeds, which can be used in cooking and
infusions, should be removed as they turn brown and then dried. Fennel tea is traditionally used to
support digestion helping with many common complaints such as bloating and discomfort. It can
also help to calm tension elsewhere in the body.
The longer days provide the opportunity for an increasing range of gardening tasks – here are top
tips for the month from the RHS:
Prune bush and climbing roses
Plant onion sets and shallots
Plant summer flowering bulbs
Plant early potatoes
Lift and divide overgrown clumps of perennials
Mow the lawn on dry days (if needed)
Cut back ornamental grasses that have been left standing over winter
Prune buddleia to encourage new flowering growth
Feed trees, shrubs and hedges
Start sowing veg seeds outside in mild areas eg broad beans, carrots, parsnips, beetroot,
onions, lettuces, radish, peas and spinach
And finally …
“It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is
summer in the light, and winter in the shade.” Charles Dickens
