Blog Phil’s blog        ‘THE MAGIC OF MARCH’ March 2012 This is the month when spring begins!  So much going on and so much to do.  If you have pruning to do,  this is a good month to do it.  Any shrubs which need cutting back hard, such as Buddlejas, Lavatera,  Sambucus, Dogwoods with coloured stems, all these should be pruned this month.  Rose pruning should be  finished off this month and don’t forget Clematis and the golden rule ‘If it blooms before June – don’t  prune’. Bulbs are popping up everywhere and if the weather stopped you planting in the autumn, there are plenty  available in pots to purchase now for an instant display.  Look out for early flowering shrubs, especially forsythia with their golden yellow flowers.  In the same way,  early flowering perennials such as pulmonarias especially beautiful pure ‘Blue Ensign’ and Sissinghurst  white with white spots on the leaves too.  Hellebores will be flowering well this month and look out for Pink  Beauty and White Beauty with large flowers and very tough green foliage. Unlike most hellebores, these  will carry on flowering for months.  Doroncium Little Leo is a pretty compact perennial with bright yellow  flowers. It produces early and goes dormant early too, but don’t panic, it will be back again next year.   Another early producer is the ‘Bleeding Heart’ or Dicentra spectabalis with pink, red and white heart shaped  flowers or ‘Alba’ with pure white flowers.  Now that most perennials are showing new growth you can split and divide any clumps which have become  too large because you can see where to split, giving nice even pieces.  All borders should be fed with  general fertiliser this month.  Finish fruit planting this month so that new plants can settle in before blossoming and so should still  produce a crop this year. The sowing of vegetable seeds should begin in earnest as the soil begins to warm, especially if you can  protect some ground with cloches or mini tunnels or if you have a greenhouse.  Remember, you don’t need  vast spaces to grow vegetables as something’s can be grown in the smallest spaces or even in the flower  beds, especially runner beans with their attractive flowers.  If you want to clean out your pond, take care not to create too much disturbance to frogs who should be  getting ready to spawn. Lawns are looking very green at the moment, but unfortunately this is mainly due to vast areas of moss  rather than grass!  March is a great month to apply lawn sand as a mosskiller and once the moss has  turned black, rake it all out and allow the grass the repopulate the bare patches or add some seed as  necessary. Growbags and compost should be put into the greenhouse to warm up a little before they are used as  seeds and young plants start better if the compost is warm. Treat those slippery green paths as the weather gets drier with a product like ‘Patio Magic’, non-chemical  and requiring no brushing or scrubbing, just dilute and apply.  Plants bulbs for summer flowering, such as Lilies and Gladioli so they will enhance you summer displays  with the lilies providing beautiful scent.  Things may be getting tougher, but a beautiful garden to come home to can greatly enhance the mood, so  let’s do something to make us smile.     OPEN WEEKEND – Saturday 31st March   9a.m. – 5 p.m.  Sunday 1st April  10.30a.m. – 4.30p.m.