Apologies for the late arrival of the March Garden Tips. Mind you, Nature has rather delayed the arrival of Spring-like weather – here of the edge of the Peak District it has been snowing with marked enthusiasm, so maybe a few days delay can be forgiven.
Pretty in Pink/purple/blue: There is a lot of yellow about in March; early daffs, primroses, crocus and brightest of all forsythia. However, other common early flowerers come in shades of pink to puce and I have a personal enmity against the flowering currant and forsythia combination. If you have flowering currants and candyfloss pink cherries in your garden, dig up the forsythia and plant deep purple hellebores, purple Iris histriodes ‘George’ purple primula. Shrubs could include Camelia ‘Donation’ a nice clear pink and very reliable. Chaenomeles x superba ‘Pink Lady’ is a pink version of the flowering quince, an extremely tough hedging or wall shrub.
Heigh Ho, it’s off to Work: Weed, feed and mulch, let these be your watchwords for the next couple of months. Your soil will love you for it. Only leave off if the ground is frozen.
Secateurs out for cutting back last year’s growth on buddleia cornus and willows. Do not cut acers or birches during Spring, the rising sap will continue to bleed out. Leave these until later in Summer.
It may be cold but make a start on sowing indoors or in the greenhouse, tomatoes, chillies, peppers, basil. Buy some seed potatoes and leave them to chit (in a cool light place they will start to sprout) If by some chance the end of March produces some mild weather sow outdoors: lettuce spinach, peas, parsley, brassicas and carrots.
