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Here is our monthly round-up of news, tips and ideas to make the most of your garden this March!
March brings the promise of some much-needed sunny weather after a particularly wet and chilly start to the year!
With spring just around the corner and our move to our spring-summer opening hours, this month marks the start of a busy gardening season – making it the perfect time to tidy, plan, and prepare your outdoor space for spring and summer.
From the 1st of March until October, both of our centres will operate under our extended spring-summer opening hours:
Mon – Fri: 08:00am – 05:00pm
Saturday: 08:30am – 05:00pm
Sunday: 10:00am – 04:00pm
Mon – Fri: 08:00am – 05:00pm
Saturday: 08:30am – 05:00pm
Sunday: CLOSED
Here are some tasks to help you make the most out of your garden over the coming months:
• Separate perennials – Separating into smaller groups encourages new growth and summer flowering.
• Cut back rose bushes and climbers – Remove dead branches and trim stems just above fresh buds. Ensure your secateurs are sharp for precise cutting.
• Add to your compost bin – Add grass clippings and left over matter from pruning to your compost bin.
• Weed your garden – Get rid of weeds that have been left to thrive over the winter months, and cover borders and bedding with bark or wood chippings to keep them at bay.
• Prepare your greenhouse – Take down insulation in your greenhouse to let in more light. At this time of year, plants need as much light as they can get to continue growing rapidly.
• Put down fresh mulch – To keep weeds away, lay fresh mulch around fruit trees. To feed your trees and ensure a healthy crop, also apply a garden manure or compost.
• Manage pests – Keep an eye out for snails and slugs, particularly if you have an unheated greenhouse, as they feed on new growth and seedlings. Copper rings, beer traps and organic pellets can help to protect vulnerable plants.
• Care for wildlife – Help your local hedgehogs by providing food, water and a safe place to take shelter.
• Check for wood damage – Be sure to inspect your fencing, crop protection and outbuildings. Bad winter weather can cause damage, which is best to fix at around this time of year.
• Plant potted bulbs – If you forgot to plant spring-flowering bulbs back in autumn, purchasing some potted bulbs now may be the answer. Though a little more pricey than dormant bulbs, using potted bulbs in a series of containers or along a flower bed can result in a beautiful spring display!
Our skilled joiners and shed builders love a challenge, if you have a bespoke building requirement just sketch down a few ideas and sizes and pop down or email them in and we’ll turn your dreams into reality.
Speak to a member of our team and discuss your bespoke build today!
Last year, the Royal Horticultural Society launched the first-ever Daffodil Diaries campaign to help map the UK’s daffodil populations, receiving over 3,000 submissions from across the country!
The RHS are calling on members of the public to take part in the campaign’s second year, with the aim of bringing a rare pink daffodil back into cultivation.
Logging your local daffodil population helps RHS scientists understand environmental influences and spread. Locating rare daffodils will aid in their conservation, and may even enable the preservation of their genetic material in the face of a changing climate.
Find out how to log your local daffodils here.
The International Day of Forests takes place on March 21st – celebrating the importance of forests, and our need to preserve them.
This year’s theme is ‘Forests and Economies’, celebrating the essential role that forests play in driving economic prosperity across the world.
Why not visit our Midgley centre and enjoy a woodland walk? We have two nature trails of differing lengths at Midgley for you to explore, with historical facts about the area dotted throughout.
You can also visit our Little Acorn coffee stop at Midgley – our vintage horse box conversion serves hot and cold drinks and a variety of tasty treats.
As local wildlife begins to return to our gardens after winter, March is a great time to start thinking about how you can support and protect the UK’s critters.
Here are our top tips for creating a wildlife-friendly garden:
• Let your spring grass grow – Areas of long cut grass are home to all kinds of insects, as well as the birds who feast on them.
• Add animal houses to your garden – Adding birdboxes, hedgehog homes and insect wedges to your garden is a clever way to welcome springtime birds and hungry hedgehogs back to nature. Take a look at our range of RSPB-approved bird feeds, bird boxes, and hedgehog houses.
• Create a compost heap – Disposing of appropriate waste in a compost bin or heap helps to enrich your soil and will provide a home for worms, woodlice and frogs.
• Grow bee-friendly plants – Include a variety of flowers, shrubs, and herbs that attract pollinators such as bees and butterflies. Plant species like lavender, coneflowers, sunflowers, and salvias, which are known to be attractive to pollinators.
A lot of plants are surprisingly resilient, so don’t worry if winter weather has left them with frost damage – here are some top tips to help your plants recover:
• Remove damage – Use secateurs to prune away any damaged growths.
• Add fertiliser – Adding fertiliser around the base of your plant will encourage a strong re-growth.
• Water wisely – Frost-damaged plants can become dehydrated. Water during dry spells, but avoid waterlogging – soggy soil in cold weather can cause root rot.
• Have patience – You may not see signs of regrowth until summer, so don’t worry if your plants do not pick up immediately!
RHS Chelsea Flower show will be returning from the 19th – 23rd of May!
Held annually in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea in London, the world’s most prestigious flower show is more than 100 years old, representing pinnacle of horticultural excellence.
This event has something for everyone, no matter your level of gardening experience!
There’s still time to book your tickets here!
• Beetroot is full of antioxidants and can be sown until July and harvested until October.
• Tomatoes should be sown indoors between February and April and need to be watered generously and regularly. Harvest your tomatoes between July and October.
• Strawberries can be sown in March and April. For an earlier crop, it is best to grow your strawberries in pots in an unheated greenhouse or, if outside, covered with cloches.
• Carrots should be sown under cover in March and should only need to be watered if the foliage shows signs of wilting. Harvest around 3-4 month after sowing.
• Broad beans, packed with iron and potassium, can be planted until May and should be harvested towards the end of summer, around September.
• Second early potatoes can be planted in beds once the soil is no longer cold, for harvests in July and August.
A Year of Colour: How to create a bold and bright garden by Ann-Marie Powell
Turn your garden into a year-round celebration of colour with award-winning garden designer, Ann-Marie Powell. Based on her own vibrant garden, A Year of Colour shares over 40 tried-and-tested planting combinations for full colour in every season.
Available from Amazon here.
“Don’t wait for someone to bring you flowers. Plant your own garden and decorate your own soul.”
– Luther Burbank
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