Getting Your Garden Ready for Spring

March marks the true start of the gardening year. As the days grow longer and temperatures start to rise, it's the perfect time to shake off the winter chill and prepare your garden for the seasons ahead. From essential maintenance to planting new life, here’s your guide to getting your garden in top shape this March.

Raking up soil in preparation for clearing up debris.

1. Tidy Up After Winter

Winter leaves behind its fair share of debris. Begin by clearing fallen leaves, broken branches, and any dead plant material from borders and lawns. Giving your garden a good clean-up will make space for new growth and reduce the risk of pests and diseases taking hold.

Key Tasks:

Rake up leaves and fallen debris
Remove dead stems and foliage from perennials
Weed borders to prevent early growth from getting smothered

2. Pruning and Cutting Back

Early spring is a crucial time to prune certain shrubs and trees. Pruning now encourages healthy growth and helps shape your plants for the year ahead.

Focus On:

Cutting back late-flowering shrubs like Buddleja and Lavatera
Pruning rose bushes before they put on new growth
Trimming hedges if it won’t disturb nesting birds (always check first!)

A rose bush being trimming before any regrowth starts in spring.

3. Start Sowing and Planting

March is ideal for getting a head start on your vegetable patch and flower beds. Whether inside a greenhouse or directly outdoors (if the soil is workable), there’s plenty you can get underway.

What to Sow:

Hardy vegetables like carrots, beetroot, and lettuce
Sweet peas, cosmos, and marigolds for summer colour
Potatoes—March is prime time to plant your early varieties

4. Feed, Mulch & Protect

Your plants are waking up and will soon need the nutrients to fuel their growth. Apply general-purpose fertiliser to beds, borders, and lawns to give everything a boost.

To Do:

Mulch borders with compost or well-rotted manure
Apply feed to roses and fruit trees
Protect young shoots from slugs and pests

5. Be Bird Aware

March also signals the start of bird nesting season. From now through August, it's crucial to check for active nests before pruning, trimming, or clearing shrubs and trees. Disturbing nesting birds is not only harmful to wildlife, but also against the law in the UK. So before getting stuck into hedge work, always have a look first.

A patch of dried grass waiting for reseeding.

6. Lawn Care

If the weather is mild and the ground isn’t too wet, you can give your lawn its first cut of the year. Just remember to keep the mower on a higher setting to avoid stressing the grass.

Other Lawn Jobs:

Reseed bare patches
Edge your borders for a tidy look
Scarify if moss and thatch have built up

March in the Garden Means...

With longer days and brighter mornings, March is the month to set the stage for a thriving, beautiful garden. With a bit of time and care now, you’ll enjoy lush, colourful spaces through the spring and summer.

So, dust off your tools, pull on your gloves, and embrace the start of a new gardening season!

March Gardening Tips