WITH the sun finally starting to appear more often, the green-fingered among us will be eager to roll their sleeves up and get to work.
Gardening fanatics will be preparing to get their spaces ready for spring, and an expert has revealed the essential jobs you must get done now.
Hosts of the The Ins & Outs podcast, Pollyanna Wilkinson and Jojo Barr, sat down to discuss the must-do jobs for March.
The pair have 23 years of experience between them in interior and exterior design and use their podcast to give listeners helpful advice and tips.
March gardening to-do list
Hydrangeas
Pollyanna says this is the “big job” for March, but warns everyone to wait until the middle to end of the month.
She says as with all things gardening, listeners should “watch the weather and not the month.”
That means people should be keeping an eye on the temperature – and only start pruning when the nighttime temps drop to three or four degrees “consistently.”
Cornus, buddleia, cotinus
There are other things you can start pruning too!
If you have cornus (dogweed), buddleia or cotinus (smoke bush), you’re fine to start pruning these back this month.
Polly’s permission to start cutting back
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”Most people skip an important lawn care step – it’s why your grass is the last to green in the spring, nitrogen is key” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6352860014112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]Pollyanna said now is the time to start cutting back all the plants you’ve been keeping up over winter.
She advised: “We all have to do it eventually, and yes I know we’ve been keeping it up for the wildlife but now is the time so if you’ve got ornamental grasses or perennials or things you’ve kept, down it comes.”
Get those dahlias ordered
It’s time to start thinking ahead to your dahlias, if you’re looking to add a pop of colour to your garden.
Although dahlias shouldn’t be planted until the last frosts (around late April/early May), you can still start them off now.
That’s why it’s a good idea to order them asap, to make sure they arrive in time.
All you need to do is make sure they are kept safe under cover and protected from the elements.
Sewing seeds
And as March’s sunshine has brought the the light levels back up, Polly says: “You can start sewing seeds now, go for it.
“It’s nice to be out there in the sunshine.”