Weekly Gardening Tip: The March Surge
Weekly Gardening: Spring Awakening, Lawn Care & Wildlife Shelters
Welcome to our March gardening guide! As you can see in our Cherrybrook estate update above, spring is officially bursting into life. The daffodils and crocuses are putting on a spectacular show, and the garden is waking up rapidly. This week, we balance the first major lawn care of the year with crucial wildlife support.
🌱 This Week's Core Tasks
- The First Lawn Mow: If the ground is dry enough, it's time for the first trim. As highlighted by our 'Greener Cherrybrook' mower setup, set your blades to their highest setting. We only want to take the tips off the grass to prevent shocking the roots this early in the season.
- Prune Bush Roses: March is the deadline for pruning your bush roses. Cut back dead, diseased, or crossing stems, and reduce the remaining healthy stems down to an outward-facing bud to encourage an open, airy shape.
- Weed Early: Hand-pull emerging weeds like bittercress and dandelions now before they have a chance to set seed and spread throughout your borders.
🪵 Creating a March Wildlife Shelter
While we tidy up our main beds, it's vital to leave dedicated safe spaces for our local biodiversity. Take a cue from our garden setup and create a small log pile or leaf shelter in an undisturbed corner. Labeling it or keeping it clear reminds everyone to leave it be, giving overwintering insects, hedgehogs, and solitary bees a safe haven as they transition into spring.
🥕 Sowing the First Seeds
Outdoors, if the soil isn't waterlogged, you can start sowing hardy crops under cloches or fleece, such as broad beans, early peas, and spinach. Indoors, continue nurturing your windowsill seedlings—tomatoes and peppers will be reaching for the light, so remember to turn your pots daily to keep them growing straight.
🎨 Kids Club: The Great Easter Chick Peas!
Let's get planting! Grab some quick-growing pea seeds and plant them in small pots indoors. Kids can watch them shoot up over the next couple of weeks, and the crunchy young pea shoots make a sweet, delicious, and healthy snack they can pick themselves.
Looking for more step-by-step nature guides and seasonal fun? Check out the brilliant kids' activities over at WiggleWorms.eu.
Pro Tip: March weather can be incredibly unpredictable. Keep your horticultural fleece or old sheets ready to toss over early blooms and delicate new shoots if a sudden sharp night frost is forecast!