Its March and the sun is shining!

The sun has come out, from hiding, after many a dull week and the natural world around us responds!   The buds on the trees are swelling and the bulbs have begun to bloom.   Its time to get out in the garden.   Things to be getting on with now are:

·                     Sow sweet peas in pots or directly outside in prepared ground.

·                     Plant new border plants.

·                     Pull faded lower leaves cleanly from stems of cordylines.

·                     Plant gladioli corms outside at 2 week intervals from late March.

·                     Apply fertiliser round the base of roses and shrubs,

·                     Prepare soil where you intend to sow hardy annuals next month.

·                     Cut away the dead woody stems of hardy fuchsias.

·                     Spray fruit trees and bushes with fungicide to prevent diseases like powdery mildew.

·                     Plant Jerusalem artichokes, asparagus and rhubarb crowns.

·                     Keep newly-planted fruit well watered through spring.

·                     Sprinkle high-potash fertiliser around the base of fruit trees, bushes and canes,

·                     Place cloches over beds to warm the soil ready for early sowings.

·                     Plant onion sets and shallots.

·                     Plant dahlia tubers in large pots and use new shoots as cuttings.

·                     Sow tender bedding plants and annual climbers like morning glory.

·                     Ventilate the greenhouse on warm days.

·                     Sow dwarf beans in large pots of moisture retentive compost for an early crop.

·                     Order seedlings and other young plants from bedding suppliers.

Don't forget to cut down colourful stems of dogwoods that you’ve enjoyed over winter.   They can be trimmed down to a woody stump.    Avoid pruning or disturbing hedges and shrubs where birds could be nesting and tread carefully through your borders so as not to damage emerging bulbs and perennials.

It is also time to cut lawns during dry periods, setting blades high (around 4-5cm), until the the weather warms up a bit more.   Remember, we can still have frosts.

Clean out and turn on pumps and filtering equipment if you have ponds or water features and divide large water lilies or other pond plants.   Do it soon as the frogs toads and newts will be keen to start spawning soon.

Enjoy.