How to make the most out of your garden in March according to a gardening expert

March 1 marks the first month of spring which is a crucial time for gardening and giving your garden a boost after the winter season.

There are 15 simple ways to upgrade your garden this March and gardening expert at Hayes Garden World, Angela Slater, explains how.

1 - Add colour to your garden

According to Ms Slater, you don’t have to be a gardening designer or spend a fortune to inject some colour into your garden. Garden centres are full of colourful plants and flowers perfect for a garden boost.

Valley Gardens, Harrogate. (Pic credit: Gerard Binks)Valley Gardens, Harrogate. (Pic credit: Gerard Binks)
Valley Gardens, Harrogate. (Pic credit: Gerard Binks)
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

There are plenty of pansies and primulas as well as pots of spring bulbs, small shrubs and conifers for the centre of the pot and ivies to trail over the edge. You can be as inventive as you like. Why not also recycle? An old pair of walking boots or wellies, metal colander, enamel saucepan jug are just a few objects you can use to hold compost.

2 - Start pruning

March is a great time to prune shrubs except for those which flower in early spring. Heathers don’t like being cut back into the old wood, however, honeysuckle can be cut back.

Roses can also be pruned now. You can train climbing roses into a fan shape; horizontal branches produce the most flowering shoots. Cut out some of the oldest branches. Shrub roses can be cut back to around eight inches (20cm) from the ground to just above a healthy bud.

3 - Get planting

You can plant biennials such as Bellis, forget-me-nots, wallflowers and pansies; they will flower the following year. Why not plant summer flowering bulbs in a sunny spot once the soil has warmed a bit or plant in old plastic pots and place them in a sunny frost-free spot?

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

These pots can then be put into any gaps in the border; once they have flowered, they can be removed and overwintered in a frost-free environment or removed from the compost and kept dry.

The hole the pot leaves in the border can be used to plant a shrub or herbaceous perennial. Plant shrubs, roses, deciduous climbers and trees while they are still dormant. Put a spade full of well-rotted farmyard manure or a handful of chicken pellets or blood, fish and bone into the planting hole.

4 - Start sowing vegetable seeds

This is the season to be using vegetable seeds and placing them in an unheated greenhouse or cold frame.

Check the sowing conditions as some may need to be placed in a heated propagator, such as tomatoes, aubergines, chillies and cucumbers. If the weather has warmed up, plant the vegetable plants, which were sown earlier in the year, under cloches.

5 - Replace your fence with a hedge

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

This is nearing the end of the planting season for bare root soft fruit and hedging, so you may be able to select a bargain at the garden centre.

Why not rip out that old wooden fence and grow a more wildlife friendly garden hedge instead?

6 - Plant a tree

This year is the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and to celebrate, we are all encouraged to plant a tree for the Queen’s Green Canopy. You don’t need a large garden to plant a tree as a big container will do.

Ask your local garden centre staff which small trees would be the most suitable for your garden.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Ornamental crab apples and rowan are perfect for wildlife, giving flowers in spring and fruit in the autumn season as well as beautiful autumn colour. Japanese maples are also ideally suited to planting in containers, which you would need to position in a sunny sheltered place out of the hot midday sun.

7 - Fill out any gaps in your herbaceous borders

Herbaceous perennials can be dug up, divided, and replanted assuming the soil isn’t frozen. If you have any gaps in the border, there are small perennials in the garden centre which are less pricey to buy now than later in the summer. Give the herbaceous borders a topdressing with Growmore, chicken manure pellets or blood, fish and bone.

8 - Check soil conditions

For a fresher look, begin to check the soil conditions of spring flowering shrubs such as rhododendrons, azaleas, pieris and camellias as they may need watering.

Give them a feed with an ericaceous fertiliser.

9 - Watch out for slugs

Slug and snails are starting to become active, so you may have to start a nocturnal slug patrol or apply a deterrent.

10 - End any winter protection for tender perennials

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Remove any winter protection from tender perennials but keep a close eye out for frost and replace overnight if necessary.

If you have overwintered them in containers in the greenhouse, they can go outside in a sunny position.

11 - Remove weeds

Get rid of weeds before they become established. Hoe on a dry day and leave on the surface to dry out.

12 - Be alert to the lawn or replace with a pond

The lawn will be starting to grow, so now would be a good time to give it some tender, love and care. Rake out any patches of moss, aerate and brush some lawn sand into the holes then apply new seed.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Apply fertiliser on a day when it is not raining and if the lawn remains wet and moss covered, you can always dig it out and replace it with a small pond - which would be great for wildlife.

Pond pumps can be cleaned and serviced before the fish become active and any pot-bound aquatic plants can be divided and replanted.

13 - Clean out your patio and garden furniture

Give your outside garden space a makeover, ready to entertain family and friends once the weather gets warmer. Give the patio and garden furniture a good clean on a dry windy day. If it is showing signs of old age, take a trip to the garden centre and refresh your garden with a new one.

It is worthwhile investing in good quality garden furniture as it will last longer and be more comfortable than a budget set. Check your cushions for any mould and wash the covers; if they are slightly damp, place them somewhere warm to dry out.

14 - Get your hard landscaping done

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

If you are planning a new lounge area outside, now is the time to get the hard landscaping out of the way. Remember to lay out a hard, flat, stable surface to make sure there are no accidents with a wobbly barbecue or furniture.

Leave space for a side prep table for the tools and ingredients as there is nothing worse than constantly having to run into the kitchen.

15 - Clean your BBQ

Just like any other household appliance, a BBQ set needs regular maintenance before it is used in March when the weather becomes warmer.

Clean and service the barbecue; fire it up and cook lunch while you are pottering about in the garden. If you don’t have a barbecue and think you may like to start cooking for the family or your friends, pick one out at the garden centre. Practise with simple dishes first before you host a big party.

Related topics:

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.