The days are getting longer. It’s light past half past five (hooray) and the temperature is very slowly getting warmer. In my own garden, James and I are on track to have a refreshed courtyard by the time the summer truly starts.
In My Garden
Last month we hired a tree surgeon to remove the ma-hassive shrubs which were attempting to take over our courtyard. Once they were removed they revealed a small wall we didn’t even know existed, covered in ivy. The act also exposed a truly hideous fence which has seen better days so we have another unexpected job to add to the garden project list.
I have to admit after last weekend’s gardening endeavours I have started to loose enthusiasm. It was absolutely freezing, blowing a gale and I was trying to hack back an overzealous ivy while wearing a pair of fingerless gloves. I am in desperate need of some snazzy gardening gloves which not only look the part, but are also practical too.
There seems to be an awful lot to do but Rome wasn’t built in a day and we are very slowly making progress. The fence panels have been ordered and I’ve shortlisted the trees to go up against the fence for privacy. I just need to order them now but the price is eye wateringly expensive for five!
One little patch of snowdrops finally did appear and lots of bulbs are bursting through so I’m hoping for tulips before the month is out.
In Your Garden
- Have a good old spring clean, weed, clear and dig over the borders and strip perennials of dead leaves and heads
- While you’re at it weed your driveway and patio. It’s a pain in the bum but will be worth it to set you up for the season ahead
- Feed roses with as special rose food or balance fertiliser and prune into shape
- Plant up your spring tubs and hanging baskets with primroses, pansies and violas, tete-a-tete, cyclamen or spring heathers
- Prune early-flowering clematis once their flowers have finished and summer-flowering clematis before they start into active growth
- Snip off old stems and dead-head hydrangeas before new growth appears
- Watch out for pesky slugs as they’re about to make a reappearance
- Later in the month plant out onions, garlic and shallots
- Many vegetable crops can be sown later this month too. From broad beans to carrots, salad leaves to leeks. March is the time to get sowing
What are you up to in your garden this month? How have your bulbs fared? Any surprises popped up from your soil?
Image sources | Stacked pots | Tulips in containers
So much excitement in my garden! My ‘bulb lasagne’ has come good, so now my winter pansies are dying off, I’ve got iris flowering and daffodils coming up through those ready to go. Once they’re done, the later flowering tulips I planted under those should be good to go – I’m really enjoying watching each layer come up.
I’ve been busy planning and buying plants and bulbs from all over the place – I’ve found supermarkets (particularly Aldi for plants and Sainsburys for bulbs) and ebay to be surprisingly fruitful – I’m currently eyeing up a silver birch on eBay at a fraction of the price to a normal nursery. I’ve also been spending my clubcard vouchers with Thompson & Morgan – if you can be bothered to grow on plug plants they’re a bargain as you get £15 plant vouchers for each £5 clubcard voucher you exchange.
We had our ‘wilderness’ garden tamed last year, so this year I’m watching how it grows to see what needs doing. Our new lawn has survived the winter well but is absolutely covered in worm casts (anyone got any advice?!) and we’re seeing a lot of random bulbs popping up through it where they were obviously left – which is quite nice at this time of year.
Our major project this year is to create a concrete ‘plinth’ for a patio area on the raised bit at the end of the garden. Oh, and turn the front garden into something that people will actually want to look at. I have visions of lavender hedges, but suspect I may end up chucking a load of heather in for ground cover and leaving it to it…
Love the bulb lasagne Sara! Fab idea to get colour for the whole season.
Must check ebay for the trees I’m after. Thanks for the tip x
We’re all about the bulbs too. The tulips and daffodils are starting to come up, so hopefully there’ll be some colour by the end of the month. We’ve got plans for the garden this year – new fence and shed, and transform a scruffy bit at the top into a beautiful eating, drinking and sitting area. However, what I’m really excited about is my snowdrops! I was given a clump by a friend last year, and just now I went out and cut a few perfect little beauties. They’re sitting in a shot glass on the mantelpiece now, and I love them! It’s our eighth “meeting” anniversary today, so although we don’t officially celebrate, I can give them to my hubby when he comes in!
Happy meeting anniversary Denise! Hope you had a lovely anniversary yesterday.
You’ve inspired me to cut some of my tiny clump of snowdrops and bring them indoors!
Ah, Lauren, you should totally cut some snowdrops for indoors – mine look beautiful and smell divine! Just find a beautiful, tiny glass, and go to town with them.
The garden is now weeded with everything dead, so this weekend is clearing and then topsoil down next weekend. Will leave for 3-4 weeks before turf goes down so it can sink. This weekend our shed comes so we will be building that, fixing the fence that’s taken a battering in the storms, and we have a tree surgeon in next week to remove a huge tree that’s full of ivy and rotting away. A lot of expense to just have the garden habitable before we can make it pretty!
So the killing spree went well Anna?! You’ll be ready to start planting before you know it.
Now I have crocuses coming up in our tubs at the front I need to replant the cyclamen they are competing with in the back garden. I also need to get some fertiliser and dig that into all the beds. Might rope the hubby in to help with that.
Cyclamen and crocuses are so beautiful Sarah. I bet your garden looks very pretty at the moment.
We moved from a house with an established garden to one with a courtyard and few plants. Bit daunted but loving the inspiration from these posts. Definitely need to invest in a tree but not entirely sure what to go for…..
Hi Kat, are you looking for a tree to go in a container?
We live in a flat so its just pots and window boxes for me! Got daffies coming up just about ready to burst and the start of some bluebells! I’m trying the bulb lasagne too so hopefully when daffies are done up will come the fuscias and blue thistles! Also have african blue lillies and white lillies in a pot by the front door so fingers crossed they’ll come good 🙂
Loving the sound of your combinations Annie. I adore African Blues x
Yes looking for a tree that will add some interest against a plain cream wall. Think it will have to be in a container but potentially could build a raised bed like in your pintrest pictures. Not sure how difficult/expensive this would be?
Hi Kat, I have a gorgeous acer in a pot. It’s only little but the red colour really stands out. I think this will be its eight or ninth year now and fingers crossed it seems quite happy.