MARCH GARDEN NOTES

By John Draper
Crocus, iris and some early daffodils will be providing great colour in the garden and new leaves will be emerging from shrubs and trees. The key job is to feed existing shrubs, roses and flowers ready for the rush of new growth. Depending on conditions it’s also time for seed sowing, planting and lawn maintenance.
The lawn
Your lawn is a great contributor to the welfare of the environment. When grouped together with the millions of other grass patches tended in gardens today, they absorb 0.5 tonnes of carbon per acre per year. That’s a net reduction in carbon emissions from a great play area that can look great and that acts as an interesting foil to colour flower borders. A well-tended lawn will also absorb heat and prevent wasteful water run-off.
After a cold, dark winter with plenty of rain and heavy cloud cover, the grass is likely to be in a poor state. Start by mowing the lawn, choose a dry day when frost is not present. You will almost certainly find colonies of moss, especially in low lying and shaded areas. To put it bluntly the grass needs to be fed, the moss killed and try and improve the drainage over the whole lawn.
Beds & Borders
Rose pruning is said by many to be one of the most daunting jobs in the garden, just because they are frightened they may harm the plants. But the alternative of no pruning creates an untidy, shapeless bush that only flowers on the top of tall stems. It’s much better for your garden and your roses to get secateurs and get hacking. Assuming your rose bush is established, you are unlikely to do it any harm.
Feeding your roses and other shrubs in spring is essential if they are to be strong and healthy this year. Rose & Shrub Plant Food will feed your plants with balanced nutrients and magnesium to help produce richly coloured blooms with greener foliage and excellent fragrance.
Patio tubs and Baskets
Sow seeds of tender bedding plants such as busy lizzies, petunia, verbena and French marigolds, so that you have plenty of young plants for use in patio pots, window boxes and hanging baskets in May.
Growing your own
It’s all hands to seed sowing now that spring is on the horizon. For a reliable early crop, some vegetables such as beetroot, broad beans and onions deserve to be sown indoors ready to plant out the seedlings come early April when the soil has become warmer. Sow broad bean seeds in individual three-inch pots using seed and cutting compost.
While most gardeners treat fruits like gooseberries, strawberries and raspberries to a yearly feed in spring, few seem to give apples and pear trees any extra feeding at all, which is why the crop from many trees are intermittent.
More detailed information can be found at www.greenergardens.co.uk