March 2006

Spring is in the air so get out into the garden if you have not ventured out before now. It is time to prune your roses including rambling, shrub, hybrid tea and floribunda varieties. Also large-flowered clematis varieties (groups 1 and 3) can be cut down to 45cm from the ground.
Prune shrubs with colourful stems to encourage new growth. These include the dogwoods, willows and a few of the brambles. The young growth give the vibrant colour so cut back old stems to within 2.5cm or so of their base, then feed the plant well.
Top dress plants which are growing in pots to provide them with nutrients for the new growing season. Feed them with a slow release fertilizer and replace the top surface of soil with fresh compost.

Maintain fences by applying a fresh coat of timber preservative before the plants start to grow. Repair any damage in your lawn by scratching the surface and adding some grass seed and compost mix. Rake out (‘scarify’) any ‘thatch’ which may have built up at the base of the grass with a spring-tine rake. Lawnmowers and other garden machinery should be serviced and brought into good working order ready for the first cut of the grass. Remember that the first cut should be on a high cutter setting and only trim the top of the grass to tidy the lawn.

Out in the vegetable garden start sowing vegetable seeds in earnest. Before you sow, monitor the soil temperature with a thermometer and refrain from sowing out seeds until the soil temperature has remained above 7ºC (45ºF) for a week. Keep those soil warming cloches and plastic in place to speed up the warming process. Test the soil pH to see whether it needs changing or nutrients added and protect crops of spring cabbage with fleece or straw if a frost threatens.

Plants to brighten up March are, the hardy evergreen lesser periwinkle (Vinca), which is fantastic for groundcover in dry shade. The flowering quince (Chaenomeles) is a spreading shrub that can be trained up a wall or fence. Watch out for the blossom of flowering cherry trees and magnolias to mark the first signs of spring. Late February showed the crocuses arrive in splendour but March will bring the extravagant display of tulips. Leave the foliage of the bulbs to die down naturally so the nutrients are taken back down into the bulb for next year’s flowers. Snowdrops should be moved when in the green, so replant in their new area now and add leafmould or compost as you go.

Putting a real effort into the garden now will allow you to get ahead before the weather warms up. Happy gardening!!

Contacts
The regular "In the Garden" features for Monkey Magazine are written and researched by Cat Wilkins. If you have a comment, or would like to make a suggestion for possible future topics, please feel free to email her by clicking on this link:
Cat Wilkins