I’m not sure why, but it always seems to be howling with wind or raining hard when I write these blogs. Well today it is doing both! We have also had a number of people asking if we have stock of fence panels. Clearly the autumn and winter storms have been doing some damage.
Fixing Fences & Fresh Starts
If you didn’t get it done over winter, March is the perfect time to take stock of fencing. With many plants (and hopefully the storms) out of the way, you will be able to see your boundaries clearly. Assess any damage and make repairs and improvements before your plants get growing and get in the way. Perhaps it’s time to add a trellis for a lovely climbing Jasmine to add colour, scent and extra privacy?
Time to Tidy
In March, perennials are at a low level. By now most people will have cut back last year’s growth on the grasses and tall seed heads left to overwinter. If you haven’t done yours yet, you had best pop out and get it done soon. New growth will be starting to come through making it much more difficult to cut away the old. When you cut back those perennials and grasses, tuck the stems away at the back of the border or under a bush. Any creatures still sheltering in the stems can come out in their own time and the stems will act as mulch, rotting down to enrich your soil.
Sweet Scents of Sarcococca
Are you ready to emerge along with your perennials, after a winter of hibernating indoors? I must confess that from December through January I barely did anything other than sow some microgreens on my kitchen windowsill under a grow light.
One thing I have really enjoyed is smelling the sarcococca outside my front door as I have passed by. I have decided to replace some large grasses in my front garden with more Sarcococca ruscifolia. The border is narrow and the miscanthus has got too big. By the end of the season it is sprawling and getting in the way. The sarcococca can be kept as loose, informal balls. They won’t have the crisp lines that you can get with buxus topiary, but they won’t be affected by box blight or box moth caterpillars and they are kinder on the pocket than yew.
The Joy of Home-grown Cut Flowers
We did have one dry weekend in January when I was also free to go to the allotment. It was pretty cold, but I kept warm with some clearance digging. Removing bindweed, nettle roots and some old pink carpet that may have been lurking for 30 years was hard work, but very therapeutic. The carpet was so degraded it was difficult to separate out from the soil. Thankfully its use as a weed suppressant is now banned on allotments, so gardeners of the future won’t have to deal with any forgotten bits left behind.
My thoughts are now turning to what to do with this newly dug space, which is about 2m x 2m. I had initially designated it for salads, but actually I think I might change my mind and create a cut flower garden. I don’t generally buy cut flowers except maybe a few bunches of daffodils in early Spring as a pick-me-up, but I do grow sweet peas and runner beans twining together on wigwams (it’s a family tradition). The beans make a delicious harvest and the sweet peas bring home a fabulous scent for a few days.
The idea of bringing home bunches of flowers for a vase every week is very enticing. You can cut flowers from plants growing in your borders, but it can leave your garden depleted. If you have room for a dedicated bed all the better. I have already got a couple of dahlias that need a new home and there are so many annuals and biennials that easily grow from seed, it is like being in a candy store. You can browse our seeds online by clicking here:
March to April is a fantastic time to start growing a cut flower garden. With a bit of planning you can have flowers to cut for your home all summer, maybe even all year.
Start by preparing the area where you are planning to grow your cut flowers. It needs to be sunny and sheltered from strong winds. Remove any weeds and dig in some compost and a little general fertilizer like Blood, Fish and Bone or Growmore. Then rake the surface to leave it with a crumbly texture. Browse our Feeds and Fertilisers here:
Seeds for sowing indoors on a sunny windowsill:
Dahlias – can be short-lived in a vase, but they make a dramatic statement. Look for varieties which say they are suitable for cutting as they will have longer stems. They can grow from seed and flower in their first year. Overwinter the tubers from the best plants to keep for future years.
Antirrhinum – come in a wide range of colours and last a long time in a vase.
Cleome – stunning large spidery flowers in shades of pink or white.
Cosmos – produce masses of flowers in late summer and are great for filling out an arrangement with the feathery foliage a bonus.
Tithonia – bright red, yellow or orange flowers to add heat to a display.
Rudbeckia – another fantastic one for late summer with large bright yellow flowers.
Sunflowers – choose shorter varieties with branching stems so that you get multiple flowers from one plant.
March is the last chance to sow sweet peas – but they will be available as seedlings in Garden Centres.
Seeds for sowing directly into the soil from March or April:
Ammi majus – lacy white flower heads that last a long time in a vase.
Dill – like Ammi, but with large yellow starburst umbels and edible foliage and seeds.
Gypsophila paniculata – if the soil is warming up you can start sowing this one. Beautiful paired with sweet peas or for filling out a bouquet.
Nigella – pretty cornflower-like flowers with delicate foliage
As well as seeds, you can also still pick up packs of summer bulbs including Lilies, Gladioli and Dahlia tubers. These will all flower this summer. Browse our Prepacked Summer Bulbs here:
Sow or plant in rows like a traditional vegetable plot to make weeding, staking and picking easier. Before you sow hundreds of seeds, consider the final spacings of plants. This information will be listed on the seed packets. If plants are too close together, access is harder and they could fall into each other and become damaged. Sometimes less is more!
For taller varieties, put in robust supports as soon as you sow. This will prevent them flopping on top of other plants. Sweet peas will need to be tied into a wigwam or trellis as they grow. Be prepared to keep slugs and snails at bay. Personally, I prefer to sow into seed trays and get the plants sturdy enough to withstand an attack of the slimies. Browse our slug and snail deterrents here:
As direct-sown seedlings grow, thin them out to their final spacings. Any grown in seed trays will need pricking out and pot grown ones potted on.
Depending on the weather late April to May is the time for hardening off your seedlings. Any plants that have been grown indoors or in a greenhouse need to be gradually exposed to life outside. It’s not just the cold, wind can rapidly destroy soft foliage and stems. If you are not used to the hardening off process, read my blog for more information: https://www.tatesofsussex.co.uk/hardening-off-plants-in-spring.
While you are waiting for your direct sown seeds to grow and nurturing the ones growing indoors, you can cut a few stems of spring flowering shrubs and trees like amelanchier, forsythia, syringa (lilac), Salix caprea (pussy willow) or cherry blossom to bring into the house or spring bulbs such as tulips, muscari and daffodils.
Outside-In & Inside-Out
Growing cut flowers helps to bring the garden in from outside but how can we take the inside out of our homes and into our garden? Making your garden an extension of your home involves creating an inviting view from your windows and patio doors. Beautiful planting is a start but adding a comfortable seating area in your garden is key.
Modern garden furniture suites that can be used flexibly are very useful. Many now have height adjustable tables, so you can lounge in the sun of an afternoon, raise the table to sit up for dinner and then lower it back down for casual evening drinks. The Arundel 7 Piece Corner Dining Set is a superb example of this.
Unfortunately a set this size is too big for my little patio, but I do make the most of my bistro set. Being aluminium, it won’t ever rust and I just need somewhere to store the cushions over winter. I love sitting outside with my lunch or a morning coffee and enjoying the garden into the evening with friends is so easy.
If you have a tiny patio or a balcony, folding tables and chairs can be very useful to make the most of your space.
If you are thinking of purchasing garden furniture this year it is worth coming into store to try some sets out and ask our very knowledgeable furniture staff for advice. You can also browse our Garden Furniture ranges by clicking here:
The Myth of the Perfect Garden
I was flicking through a gardening magazine the other day, admiring the reader-submitted gardens up for awards. Each one looked so lush, full of flowers, and perfectly composed. I couldn’t help but wonder—how do they get their whole garden looking that amazing? They must be out there every single day. As I scrutinised the pictures, I felt a little green with garden envy and ashamed of my own small patch. I write about plants and gardening, hopefully offering wisdom and advice—surely I can do better?
But the truth is, we all lead busy lives. Most of us have jobs, families, and responsibilities, and few people have the time or resources to maintain a magazine-worthy patch all year round. Even those stunning featured gardens are carefully staged—photographers choose the best angles, avoiding the fading flowers, weeds and untidy corners. Living in the age of Instagram can make us feel like perfection is the goal, but in reality, gardening is as much about the process as the results.
In fact, other than the edible products of a veg patch, there is no end result. A garden is never finished. Plants grow, die back and return in spring. They are shaped by the seasons, the weather and our secateurs. No space looks amazing all the time, but that doesn’t make it any less rewarding. A well-loved garden brings joy, not just in how it looks, but in how it makes us feel—whether it’s the ache in our back from an afternoon of weeding, the satisfaction of a freshly mulched bed, or the simple pleasure of sitting in our gardens with family and friends.
So however you spend time in your garden this spring, enjoy the journey. Whether you are fixing a fence, mowing the lawn or sowing a cut flower patch, take pleasure in the process and don’t dwell on imperfections, because the perfect garden is a myth.
By our resident horticultural expert
