We celebrate National Tree Week here in Ireland at the end of March each year. It’s one of my favourite events, filling me with such hope seeing trees being honoured in this way & indeed planted en-masse or protected! If you’d like you plant a tree, good news if you’re quick there’s still a week or two left. So save yourself some pennies & get a bareroot tree. Go for native if you can but there are other gems that add extra colour, scent, edible interest & benefit wildlife, such as the Tilia cordata, the small leaf lime tree. It fills the air with it’s fragrant blooms from June which make a delicious tea when dried & helps fill the hungry gap for bees in June.
Now then, if you’re not planning on planting a tree, here are five other March gardening tips from us to you!
1. Seed Sowing in full swing!
Tomatoes, Chillies, Broad beans, Lettuces, Beetroot (undercover), Calendula and Coriander can all be sown now.
2. Plant Spuds.
We always plant first earlies around Paddy’s Day on the 17th March but get them in the ground anytime around now. Here’s a short video where I show you how to plant main crop potatoes but I include all the info you need for first earlies too!
3. Herbaceous Perennials – Cut & Drop!
Old material can be cut back to allow new to come through, however make sure to drop all trimmings on the soil surface around the plant. Overwintering insects can continue to hide out inside the material & gradually it will rot back into the soil improving it.
4. Propagating Perennials.
While you’re doing the chop & drop on your herbaceous perennials, go one step further & lift & divide them too. This will not only give you plants for free but help re-invigorate old established plants too.
5. Living Willow.
Now’s the time to finish up any maintenance needed of living willow structures – fedges, arbors or archways. Remove any dead, dying or diseased growth first then tie or weave in any new stems to fill gaps. Any substantial stems that aren’t needed can be cut down to the base & then replanted to replace any stems which might have died. Don’t forgot to hammer a pilot hole with metal rod if the ground if it’s difficult to push into the ground. Any other new growth that’s not needed trim away using sharp secateurs or loppers & replant elsewhere or give away.
We hope you found our March gardening tips useful. Need some more help with your Spring gardening!? We offer virtual gardening advice sessions, workshops & design services. For more visit:
https://twogreenshoots.com/product-category/two-green-shoots/virtual-gardening/
