March in the Garden, and what to expect in April

4 Apr

The weather in England always gives us something to talk about! From Storm Eunice in February to blazing sunshine by mid March but ending with a blast from the east to keep us all on our toes. March is my key time for starting off all early veg, tomatoes and annuals for the flower borders. This is a time of year I need to be completely on guard and make thrice daily visits to my greenhouse. The teeny tiny seedlings of a Nicotiana Tabacum burn off in a trice if left unguarded on a hot day; equally a complete tray of tomatoes can be a goner if Jack Frost gets his little fingers on them. Then there’s the mice who delight in a carefully planted sunflower seed or nibble the sweet first leaf of a lettuce just enough to stop it ever developing. My defence systems are raisins on lethal traps; capilliary matting and sheets of fleece. But most of all I have to be alert!

In the garden this month we are gearing up to welcoming our visitors – of which we hope there will be many! Caroline and Ellie have been working so hard to tidy and mulch the borders, fill in the holes where the squirrels have dug up our bulbs (not many tulips left now!). We have planted lots of different Gladioli this year – the tall blowsy sorts in bright, garish colours as well as the smaller butterfly Gladioli. We have masses of new dahlias now showing shoots in their cosy place. These plants are vital for providing lots of cut flowers for The Barn and the house. There is nothing I like more at the end of the day than walking through the garden with a basket snipping flowers to enjoy inside. Very Jane Austen!

I enjoyed a trip to Cornwall in March where we visited Tregrehan Garden, a fantastic woodland garden which has quite inspired me that we must do more with our immediate surrounding woodland. We have made a start already by clearing some of the rotten trees down the Station Path and re-built our bridge (about to get a lovely coat of paint!) over the gill to create a short woodland walk. The daffodils have been simply amazing this year. I have counted over twenty different varieties and hope some will be left by the time we open just before Easter. The Bluebells will certainly be out by then so a little trip down this path will be worth taking.