Mzz B’s March garden

Galanthus woronowii- green foliage snowdrophelleborehyacinthmixed daffodilsbuff tailed queen bumble bee on crocus

The sun is out and the garden is responding to the warmth. Everywhere the spring bulbs are bursting in to bloom – it seems a yellow and blue fest, until you see the hellebores and cherry blossoms. So even if you have a small garden, just make sure you have some spring bulbs- snowdrops, daffodils, crocuses. These are very good for pollinators – see the huge buff tailed bumble bee queen enjoying the pollen from the crocus- completely ignoring the cheerful yet not good for pollen pansy. Bumble bees have fur coats so are the earliest bees you can see in the garden and the queens are huge!
Transition Tattenhall has a website with a database for photos of insects seen in and around Tattenhall, so if you can get a good photo – check out whether it is in the database in the Biodiversity section on transitiontattenhall.co.uk and if not follow the instruction to send it in to extend the knowledge of what we have here in the village. Maybe you have something that is unusual or even rare!

Jobs for March

Plant shallots, onion sets and early potatoes- cover the newly emerging shoots if frost is forecast. Cover the soil with black plastic to warm the soil before planting potatoes.

Lift and divide overgrown clumps of perennials, this is a good time to do this as the plants quickly grow at this time of year.

• Top dress containers with fresh compost- scrape off the top player if you can and replace with new.

• Mowing the lawn can start on dry days.

• Cutback dogwoods and willows for colourful winter stems next year. Other shrubs can be pruned between January and March .

• Hoe and mulch soil to keep weeds under control. get an early start and you prevent them from re-seeding!

• If you have a pond start feeding your fish.

• Prune bush and climbing roses.

• Cut back ornamental grasses now they have started new growth.

• Sow dwarf beans in a large pot in the greenhouse to get a crop inJune

• Blackcurrants need a high nitrogen fertilise at this time of year.

The Royal Horticultural Society has a very good website which you can access even you are not a member with more detailed gardening tips and advice.

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