March into Spring
Hi everyone – Eve here with your March edition of Gardening with Eve! For me, March is all about getting the garden ready for another productive year of growing, whether that’s mulching borders or planting summer flowering bulbs. March also marks the official start of spring, which is very exciting. There’s lots to be getting on with this month, so let’s get straight into it!
Prepare, weed & mulch borders
Weeding
March is a great time to get your beds and borders in tip top condition, ready for planting.
The first thing you want to do is remove as many weeds as possible, before they (literally!) grow into more of a problem.
You can use a hoe, a fork, or a dedicated weed puller to remove weeds - but I prefer just using my hands.
However you do it, the most important thing is to make sure you pull out the entire weed - including its roots - so there’s no chance it comes back to haunt you later in the year!
Mulching
Once you’ve got rid of any weeds, it’s time to mulch your garden. I had no idea what this meant before I started gardening, but it’s literally just adding a layer of organic material to the top of your beds and borders!
Mulching is a really effective way to prepare your garden for spring for lots of different reasons, including: creating a weed barrier, helping soil retain moisture, as well as introducing lots of all-important nutrients for your plants and bulbs.
You’ll find a great selection of compost at your local British Garden Centre. I like using a garden compost or a peat-free compost.
Whatever you use, make sure you’re not stingy and add at least a couple of inches on top of your existing soil.
Plant out perennials
With Spring just around the corner, it’s finally time to start doing some planting!
You’ll find a great selection of bedding plants at your local British Garden Centre. I’m a big fan of these 9cm perennials at this year.
Being nice and small, they couldn’t be easier to plant: just dig a hole the same size as the container, loosen up the roots, pop it in and water well.
At 3 for £9, they’re a great choice when you want to establish a new border or just to have a bit of fun and mix and match some new varieties that catch your eye!
Plant up summer flowering bulbs
Spring might only just be arriving, but it’s already time to start thinking about summer!
If you want your summer blooms to be better than ever this year, it’s a really good idea to give them a head start.
Summer flowering bulbs like dahlias, gladioli and begonias can be potted up now so they can start establishing themselves before it’s time to plant out directly in May.
Just make sure you keep them somewhere sunny and frost-free until they're ready to plant out.
You'll find dozens of beautiful summer flowering bulb varieties to choose from, which is amazing, but it can make it quite hard to know which to pick.
That’s why I’m a big fan of these new bulb collections we’ve got online and in select centres.
Carefully curated by our growers, our Collections include some summer amazing varieties, expertly paired to give you stunning, ready-to-plant displays.
From the fiery reds of the Hot Colours Collection to the classic elegance of the Lilac Shades Collection, this is the easiest way to enjoy the best that summer has to offer.
They're also amazing value for the amount and quality of bulbs you get!
Dahlias: Lilac Collection
Dahlias are a stunning summer flower, famed for their large, showy blooms that make excellent cut flowers.
Ready to plant from March onwards, they will flower from mid-summer through to the first frost.
This gorgeous pink collection includes 10 tubers that will produce masses of blooms in lovely pastel hues of purple, pink and white.
Begonias: Red, White & Pink Collection
Double Begonias are a summer classic, flowering continuously from mid-summer through to autumn.
Their large, double blooms and easy-going nature make them the perfect for adding long lasting colour to your pots, beds and borders.
This Mixed Double Collection pack includes 6 giant sized tubers, ready to plant from March onwards.
I'm a big fan of these elegant collection of red, white and pink blooms.
Dahlias: Hot Colours Collection
Add some vivid colour to your garden with this stunning collection of dahlias.
Ready to plant up from March onwards, they will flower from mid-summer through to the first frost.
This vibrant, fiery collection includes 10 tubers that will produce beautiful, bold flowers for some explosive summer colour.
Thanks for reading.
