March - at last!

The garden is really starting to come alive after one of the greyest Februaries. Spring-flowering bulbs are coming into their own. Later in the month as the clocks go forward, it's a relief that we get more time to spend in the garden: even at this time of year we suddenly find that there aren't enough hours in the day to get all the jobs done.

The weather can be fickle at this time of year with blue skies one day and frosts the next. Don't be tempted to buy bedding plants that are appearing at garden centres just yet, unless you have a green house or a frost-free place in which to keep them.

My jobs to get done this month:

Sow tomatoes and peppers

Lay turf or finish preparations for growing grass from seed

Plant  chitted early potatoes

Stake young plants before they need it

In the vegetable garden:

Tie in blackberries

Plant out potted strawberry runners

Prevent weeds: mulch borders with a thick layer of organic matter early in Spring while the soil is still moist.

Prepare runner bean trenches

Sow first batches of peas, beetroot and carrots towards the end of the month. On our heavy clay soil, unless you've had the ground covered during part of the winter, don't be tempted to sow just yet. If you're short of space, try planting vegetables amongst flowers. The fine, feathery foliage of carrots contrasts well with the bold leaves of hostas. Globe artichokes and cardoons are stunning architectural plants and look fabulous in any border.

In the rest of the garden:

Grow your own perennials: go out and buy Carol Klein's book telling you how to do this, if you didn't get it in January (see January's tips) 

Sow sweet peas outdoors

Remove the top 5cm of compost from containers and replace with fresh

Start to plant summer-flowering bulbs

Divide primulas, hostas and hellebores

Plant  warm-season grasses such as Pennisetum and Miscanthus

Coppice Eucalyptus and Cornus

Pollard Paulownia and Catalpa

Apply a moss killer to lawns, and look for causes of its growth, such as poor drainage

Avoid walking on newly-laid turf for several weeks

Start mowing lawns regularly

Sow wild flowers and grasses in meadows

It's your last chance to plant bare-root roses and shrubs and new fruit trees and bushes