On a sunny day in March
On a sunny day in March, there is a to do list forming in every gardeners mind. Spring feels like it has rounded the corner and is now right on our tail. The hopes, dreams and plans we formulated back in January are in need of actionable steps if they are to be realized by summer.
On a sunny day in March, there are plenty of garden tasks that we can start on to put us ahead of the planting frenzy in April and May.
To begin, there is pruning to be done. A dry, sunny day is the best time to prune any of those shrubs and plants needing a spring clean up. Dead, diseased and dying branches need to be removed in order for new growth to flourish in the warmer months ahead. I prune my roses, lavender, and ornamental grasses at this time. Other shrubs like forsythia, camellia, and witch hazel should be pruned once their flowers fade, which can be in March or April depending on the year. This helps maintain their shape when they put on new growth after the flowers have died back.
Roald Dahl, a wonderful David Austin shrub rose. Prune in late February or March for healthy flowers in June
On a sunny day in March, I also tackle the weeds. It is the best time to get ahead of the perennial weeds as their roots are shallow and are much easier to pull. Buttercups, blackberries, horsetail and morning glory are some of the fastest spreading weeds in my garden and by getting on top of their new growth in March, I find they are more manageable throughout the growing season.
The annual weeds are also essential to yank out at this time of year. They are just starting to push up flowers that will soon spread thousands of seeds all around your garden. These weeds usually have shallow roots that are easy to pull out with your hands or a once over with a garden hoe. If you can take the time to pull these little nuisances before they go to seed, you will save yourself from having to deal with the burden of their offspring.
Another task worth tackling is splitting perennials that you missed splitting in the fall. I do most of my dividing and moving of perennial plants in September or October as it gives the plants a chance to put down new roots ahead of winter, allowing for stronger, fuller plants come summer, but March is second best. This month I will be splitting my brunnera, helenium, miscanthus and northern sea oats. Splitting is essenially digging out a portion of an established perennial and replanting it elsewhere in the garden. It is an excellent way to fill out your garden without having to buy new plants.
snapdragon seedlings
Don’t forget about sowing seeds in March. If you’re growing indoors on a window sill or under grow lights, this tasks can be handled on a rainy day, but something about the blue sky, the birds chirping and the warm glow of a sunny day always gets me motivated to start some seeds.
In March, you are still able to start your hardy annual seeds, like nigella, poppies, bells of Ireland, and cornflower that are happier growing in cooler temperatures (above freezing but below 10 degrees at night).
You can also start the first round of those summer flowering annuals that need temperatures to warm up before they are safe to be planted in the garden (consistently above 10 degrees at night). These include cosmos, zinnias, dahlias and celosia.
Cosmos, cupcake blush. One of the easiest summer annuals to start from seed.
Warm weather annuals can be started now or you can hold off for a few more weeks. Many of them are quick to grow, ready to plant outside in 3 to 4 weeks from sowing, so you don’t want to end up with eager plants that can’t be planted out because temperatures are still too cold. This topic could take up a whole other blog post, or five, so we won’t get into too much detail here but know that you are good to start experimenting with the trial and error that is seed sowing.