A season of renewal, March heralds the onset of spring and provides a welcome break from the gloomy, cold days of winter—particularly for those with a passion for gardening. Gardeners have numerous tasks to tackle at this time of year as their gardens begin to flourish once more.
Indeed, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) recommends pruning roses, planting onion sets and shallots, and, when required, mowing the lawn on dry days. BBC Gardeners’ World legend Monty Don concurs that this is the month to do so, but offers a note of caution. He notes the lawn will “need mowing in March,” but cautions you shouldn’t “cut it too short.”
Monty advised readers in his blog to “give it a light trim” for the rest of the month. Additional guidance appeared on TikTok from Michael Griffiths, who recommended feeding roses for “better blooms.”
Meanwhile, Rob Brett, curator at RHS Hyde Hall, last year emphasised that there is “so much to do” during springtime, describing it as a “great” opportunity to commence planting.
Rob said: “Choosing one thing to plant is a challenge as there is so much to do in a garden in spring. Spring is a great time to plant, so perhaps use early spring to plan your planting sequence. Depending on weather conditions, early March is the last time to plant bare-root trees and shrubs.
“March is also a great time to split and divide clumps of herbaceous plants and relocate them to areas around the garden (or, if not needed, give them to friends and neighbours).”
“March and April are also the time to plant many of our traditional vegetables – early potatoes, onion sets and shallots, for example. If I had to choose one thing to plant in spring it would be summer flowering bulbs. We often neglect to think about this, as we concentrate on planting spring flowering bulbs in autumn.”
Looking ahead, he observed that summer is a “great time” for “wonderful” plants such as Gladiolus, with personal favourites including Nerine and Eucomis, celebrated for their “pineapple flowering heads.”
Beyond planting, the RHS has outlined a host of additional jobs for gardeners to tackle this March, ranging from planting potatoes to managing overgrown perennials.
Rob concluded: “I would hope that people have been enjoying their gardens throughout the winter – they can become a beautiful visual statement and food for wildlife – but, if you are venturing out for the first time, take stock and see what’s looking good, what’s flowering and what needs cutting back.
“March signals a time for cutting back herbaceous plants that have been left over winter, but March is also the time for pruning shrubs and climbing roses.”