GIFTED | If the calender hadn’t told me it’s March in my garden then the swathes of gorgeous flowers giving it a spring glow up would do so. There’s colour everywhere, which is always a welcome sight at this time of year. I’ve written before about the rewards bulbs and corms give for very little effort, and this month’s fabulous display is no exception. Apologies in advance for a very photo-heavy post!
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What’s flowering now?
While the daffodil is probably the flower most people associate with March (as well as being St David’s flower), my garden stars are hellebores (see cover pic). I have several varieties of this lovely perennial dotted around our garden, both in sun and shade, and they are absolutely stunning just now. They’re incredibly good natured too, needing little maintenance other than a light prune to remove the previous year’s leaves each December/January.
Another low maintenance perennial is my Raspberry Splash lungwort (Pulmonaria). A shade lover, the beautiful white spotted green leaves make a lovely contrast to the delicate little red flowers, which will turn blue over time.
So, it’s March in my garden, what about those Spring bulbs? Well, the predominantly blue colours are coming from the grape hyacinths (Muscari) which I have in pots and underplanting some of our shrubs. They’re supremely easy to grow and come back year on year.
And scattered through the grass are some blue chionodoxa forbesii, some pink chionodoxa luciliae, and some blue anemone blanda (windflowers) under the foot of a tree.
Over the years we’ve planted thousands of daffodil bulbs in pots and throughout the garden and orchard. Some are tall, vase-ready plants, some are smaller bedside posie-sized, but all are blazing joyously in their various locations. My favourite is the centre picture, I just adore this shaggy, raggedy little flower. I don’t know what variety it is but it’s a little beauty.
What’s sprouting now?
Pretty much everything! I hard pruned our buddleias last month and they’re putting on new growth at an alarming rate. All the roses are growing fresh new leaves and it will be time to transplant my three new rose plants (grown from cuttings taken last year) soon. I just don’t know where though as they’ll become eight foot scramblers in time. It was a cuttings experiment that I didn’t think would work so well!
Outdoor jobs for March
If you read last month’s post, you may remember I went on a little bulb and plant spending spree for my birthday 🙂 Planting bulbs and corms is absolutely back-breaking work, but not this year thanks to my wonderful new gardening stool* kindly gifted by OneLeg. OneLeg stools are designed to rock and tilt as you sit, making them ideal for those tricky or uncomfortable low-level tasks. Designed by a lady gardener, each stool is weather proof, impact resistant, lightweight and easy to move around. UPDATE: Sadly, since this post was written One Leg are no longer trading.
I chose a 32″ model in lime green (you can also select other heights, colours, and removable slip-on covers) and I have to say it is a complete game changer. After a solid three hours in the garden, I woke up the next day with no backache whatsoever. And I am shocked that something so small can make such a difference. I can see it being in use all year round: for weeding, pruning, seed sowing, and not just in the garden either. Flora keeps trying to pinch it for her bedroom, so we may be investing in another one shortly…
Here are some of the flowering spring bulbs I planted underneath our new silver birch tree. Once they’re over, some early summer aliums and gladioli should hopefully start poking through too.
And I gave way and bought another dahlia tuber which I’ve planted up in the greenhouse to grow on for planting out after the last frosts. (Tubers look a little like potatoes, it’s hard to imagine that they’ll ever provide the glorious floral displays that you see in late summer!) You might also remember that sunflower seedhead I left out for the birds over winter had started sprouting? Next to the dahlia tuber are a few of the sunflower seedlings I rescued. Very kind of Nature to lend an early helping hand.
Indoor jobs for March
Towards the end of last month we sowed our tomatoes, cucumbers and sweet peas, some of which have already started sprouting. Now it’s time to sow some white and pink cosmos, purple and white cobeas, and my absolute favourite purple petunia.
Petunias have a bit of a granny image, I think, but Purple Tower is lovely: velvety soft leaves, vibrantly purple blooms, and the most wonderful heady fragrance. And they grow up to six feet if given support, or scramble happily as ground cover if you have the space. Most, if not all, of the flowers I grow in our garden I’ve chosen for their colour and their scent, and because they make wonderful flowers for cutting.
Wildlife
The early February warmth has kickstarted all the frogs into action in our little ponds. I’ve counted 18 in our top pond and 12 in our bottom pond. You’re supposed to clear the ponds of dead leaves etc before winter. But we’ve rarely bothered and I think this is why our ponds are so popular year on year.
We have masses of frogspawn already, so we’ve transplanted some to Flora’s little pond at the bottom of the orchard. Hopefully, those tadpoles will be none the wiser and will come back to her pond as adults in time.
Flora’s garden
What a change a few short weeks can make.
Spring bulbs are flowering, some garlic and a solitary broad bean plant, both from an old Mud and Bloom subscription box, are sprouting too. So this month we’ll plant some more broad beans alongside too, now that the soil is warming up a little.
March in my garden
When I look back at last month’s post, it’s hard to believe that so much has grown in just a few short weeks. As usual, much of which I’d forgotten was coming, because I struggle to remember what I’ve planted from previous years. But that’s one of the joys, I think. Gardening is full of surprises: some good, some bad, and in the end, Nature will always do what she wants. Once you accept and try to work in harmony with her, I truly believe gardening is one of the easiest, most relaxing, and rewarding acts of self-care I know.
What will you be doing in your green space this month? What would you love to grow the most?
* This post features a gifted item, but all opinions and photos are my own. This post also contains affiliate links, please see my disclaimer). 
What a great post! The pictures are absolutely gorgeous! It only feels like yesterday that I read your February’s post, last month flew by so quickly! I can’t believe the difference, so much has grown in just a few weeks. Loved this post x
http://new-lune.com
Ah, thank you so much, we are very lucky with our flowers 🙂 And yes, it’s scary how time flies! x
This post is exactly what the doctor ordered. It’s a lovely balm for the soul to remember that no matter what is happening, nature is always doing her work and the plants will always bloom & blossom regardless. It’s a nice reminder, and precisely what I needed. Plus, who doesn’t want to look at gorgeous pictures of gorgeous flowers. Lovely as ever Lisa, and I’m looking forward to April’s edition!
Cordelia || cordeliamoor.com
What a lovely thing to say, Cordelia, thank you so much! I know I’ve spoken before about my garden being my happy place but it really truly is. Whatever else is going on in my life, my garden has the ability to put things into perspective for me. I’m so glad it helps you too, even in a small way xx
Oh wow the garden looks incredible!! I love plants & flowers & this is looking amazing for March xxx
Thank you so much, I think February’s warm weather has a lot to do with it! xx
Your garden is honestly so magical! I’d feel like a little woodland fairy galloping through it 😂 That stool is an amazing idea, how it tilts, I bet that’s super useful. Plus I really like the colour too. Great post, as always!
Jenny in Neverland
Haha, what a picture! Yes, the stool is going to be veery useful later in the year too, weeding always puts my back out so I have high hopes this time 🙂 x
I love daffodil! such pretty flowers! My parents have daffodils in their garden and i can’t wait to be home just to see all the flowers!
They are gorgeous, aren’t they? So many colours and varieties too, not just yellow 🙂
Daffodils always say Spring time to me and I enjoy seeing them pop up in our village. In our garden, the lavender has taken over one section and my mum is looking for some plants in blues and purples to go among them. I love the look of the Raspberry Splash lungwort you have so I’ll be mentioning that to her as a possibility. The foot stool would come in handy for my dad when he’s weeding.
Daffs really are the quintessential Spring flower, aren’t they? Salvias would go well with lavender, they both like sunny spots and they come in some blues, pinks, purples. Your mum’s garden sounds lovely and yes, I’m sure your dad would benefit from a OneLeg too!
Your garden is lovely. I would love to sip coffee, read a book and enjoy the sunshine in that garden
Ah, thank you, it’s something I feel very lucky to be able to do sometimes 🙂
I’ve been wanting to do our gardens up so this blog post has really helped me darling, thank you so much for sharing and educating me a little bit! 🌻💜
With love, Alisha Valerie x | http://www.alishavalerie.com
Oh, I’m so glad it was helpful. I’m no expert but I do like experimenting and having fun so that’s probably why we have so much stuff in our garden!
Wow it looks so beautiful!! you have a lovely garden, i love gardens, but i am not very into it jaja, sometimes I help my mother in general stuff. You look like an expert.
Oh, thank you 🙂 I’m certainly no expert but I do like trying things – sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t but it’s always fun to see what will happen!
Okay, I need you green thumb because there’s no way I could keep a gorgeous garden like this!
S .x https://samsramblings91.blogspot.com
Haha, happy to oblige, albeit virtually 🙂
I live in a flat so I don’t have a garden but I wish I did when I see these posts I really wish I had one! Your garden is so lovely and full of such pretty flowers especially the daffodils they are such a gorgeous flower! Lovely post x
I lived in a flat for 15 years and only had a window box so when we moved to our current home I went a little bit overboard, I think! I hope you get to have a garden too one day, it’s so much fun 🙂 x
This looks so pretty! All I see is snow and ice. I need spring to come asap.
Jennifer
Ah well, snow is a great insulator so you’ve probably got all sorts growing away underneath, ready to surprise you when it melts! 🙂
Your garden is looking lovely (as always)! The stool sounds like a great addition too. I think I’ve said this before but I love that Flora has her own little flourishing patch too. It’s really starting to brighten up now! x
Sophie
Thank you, Sophie 🙂 I absolutely love my stool, it’s such a brilliant design. And yes, I need Flora to start doing some more work on her patch soon, so far this winter it’s been a little neglected, haha x
I can see spring everywhere in your garden Lisa. Such beautiful and pretty flowers. I totally understand how helpful that stool must be while working for so long. I love the green color you chose. 🙂
Via | http://glossnglitters.com
Thank you so much, Via, we are very lucky with our garden. And yes, spring makes all the hard work of the previous autumn seem worthwhile! 🙂
I always look forward to your garden posts! It looks amazing. And those seedlings are almost ready to get go. Right now I have this purple cherry tomato plant that just went nuts. It’s taking up 9 feet x 4 feet of my grow box and hiding everything else. But it’s also bearing like crazy so that’s always good too… Am I right? Ha!
xo Ros
Oh, thank you, Roz, that’s lovely to read! And I’m intrigued by your purple cherry tomato plant, I’ve never seen one of those before. Clearly a happy plant judging by the size of it, haha! 🙂 x
Oh, I love all of the colours, especially the Raspberry Splash lungwort and obviously the daffodils, too! It’s so nice to see them popping up when I’m out and about. I can’t believe you have so many frogs hopping around. Your garden is just magical. Flora’s garden is looking lovely, too. xx
Ah, thank you so much, Ruth, that’s so mind. Lungwort is a new one for me this year but I love it, I want to get some more! And yes, we are amphibian central round here 🙂 xx
Your yard looks great! I believe that human beings find peace when dealing with flowers and you are not even aware of how time is!
Thank you so much 🙂
Your garden looks so lovely! And the blooms are ethereal. I love to garden too, and I can’t wait to see your roses!
Marie
https://theflowerduet.blogspot.com
Thank you so much, that’s very kind of you! 🙂