March is a contrary month. One moment winter, the next spring, it tosses from wind to snow to balmy sunshine within the course of a day. What the gardener wants in March is drought. It would scarcely matter if it did not rain, in the pretty certain knowledge that April would make up any shortfall. The garden will gain 10 days of growth from a fortnight of soft March weather - and as often will hold, completely static, for a fortnight in April. The moral of the story is to seize the moment.
The first focus of attention must be the soil. If it is ready then March is a good time to plant and move things around. But 'ready' means dry enough and - critically - warm enough. The only way to know this is by touch. Pick up a handful of earth. If it feels cold and clammy then seeds will not germinate and roots will not grow. If it feels warm, holds together when squeezed and yet can easily be crumbled then it is ideal. Obviously, the deeper you dig, the colder it will be, and a heavy clay soil will take much longer to warm than a light chalky one. So the only rule is one of thumb - your thumb fingering the soil in your hand.
In the vegetable garden I like to get potatoes in by the end of March - they yield best when grown fast. For this they need enough water, nutrition and heat - and ideally a lot of each. The danger of an early planting is that they will grow well for a few weeks, poke their leaves out of the ground then get hit by cold weather in April and stop growing. The way round this is to ridge them up very well so that by the time they hit the surface they have done more growing, and to cover them with fleece as soon as there is any sign of growth. I also do an outdoor sowing of broad beans, peas, lettuce, rocket, spinach, beetroot, carrots, parsnips, radish, shallots and onion sets. It is far better to sow too late than too early.
Under cover I sow celery, celeriac, tomatoes, cucumbers, aubergines, peppers, courgettes, basil, cabbage, cauliflower, more lettuce, parsley, chard and artichokes. Towards the end of March I take offsets from existing artichoke and cardoon plants. It is too early for pumpkins, Florence fennel, sweetcorn, dwarf or climbing beans, winter brassica or chicory other than endive. I dig pits and fill them with compost for the climbing beans and put up hazel wigwams for them to climb up. The salad seeds I sowed in January and February are ready to be planted out into the greenhouse and their first harvest will be at the end of the month. March is the best month for rhubarb, broccoli and sorrel.
In the fruit garden I prune the red and white currants, trimming all branches back by about a third and taking out all new growth inside the goblet shape I try to create with each bush and any branches below the 'leg' or short stem that I train so the bush is raised off the ground. These elaborate shapings are geared to defeat the sawfly which will lay its eggs inside the bushes and the larvae that will completely defoliate them. They hate wind, and keeping the bushes open and off the ground deters them. I prune gooseberries in the same way, cutting the side shoots on the cordons back hard. And it's not too late to finish winter- pruning the apples and pears.
Though I start in February, March is a good time to prune shrub roses, buddleia, late-flowering clematis, dogwood, deciduous ceanothus, rubus and willows. Remember two rules: cut hard to stimulate vigorous regrowth, and cut to something - preferably an outward-facing bud.
My spring garden is dominated by hellebores, pulmonarias, fritillaries, wood anemones, violets and primroses, but I am conscious that most people would regard the daffodil as the pride of the month. So far I have only learnt to like daffodils en masse, preferably wild, but I am aware this is a failing of mine rather than the plant's. If I had rather more acidic soil and a milder climate I would certainly grow magnolias, as we did in London. Magnolia stellata will be the first to flower, followed by M x soulangeana.
The hostas in my garden start to appear as sharp cones of furled leaf and March is a good time to divide and move them. The best way is with a sharp spade, dividing the plant like a cake, making sure each section has a healthy bud. Any herbaceous plant can be divided this month, but water them in well.
When all the shifting, splitting, dividing and replanting is done, you should mulch. Mulching in March is probably the most useful thing you can do for a flower border. I've tried many mulches and there is no ideal one, though garden compost is good if you have enough (and you almost certainly won't). It's worth ringing your local council to see if they have a composting service - many provide it free. I use a lot of mushroom compost, which is fairly cheap and pleasant to handle, but make sure it is well-rotted - it should be black, not brown, and should not have the slight putty consistency that fresh mushroom compost has. Cocoa shells are easy to put down, last well and lighten heavy soils, but they are not cheap. Whatever you use, to be an effective weed barrier it should be laid at least 2in thick. Any less is a waste of time and money.
It should have been done over winter, of course, but the mower should be cleaned and sharpened, if not serviced - all grass will need mowing some time this month. Do not cut it too short. A good scratch with a wire rake will get rid of all the dead grass and moss. You could also spike the grass with a fork and brush sharpsand into the holes. This will certainly improve the lawn, but whether it is worth it is debatable.
What is unarguable is that the most exciting day of the gardening year falls at the end of the month when the clocks go forward into the light. And so do I.
March at a glance
Watch the weather The first shirt-sleeve afternoon doesn't make a spring. More harm will be done by being too early. Don't plant out any non-hardy plants and don't sow until the ground feels warm. However, if the conditions are right, sow outside early salad crops such as rocket, land cress, Little Gem and Tom Thumb lettuce, and plant potatoes, broad beans, peas, lettuce, spinach, beetroot, carrots, parsnips, radish, shallots and onion sets.
In the borders, now is the best time to split and move any herbaceous plants. Most of these do better if divided every few years, throwing away the centre and replanting the exterior segments which are much more vigorous.
Mulch as much bare soil as you can this month. Any organic material is better than nothing, although garden compost, mushroom compost or spent cocoa shells are my preference. Whatever you use, put down a layer at least 2in thick. If you use horse manure, make sure it is well-rotted.
Mow lawns, but do not set the blades too low. Add grass clippings to the compost heap, mixing the mowings 50:50 with straw, torn cardboard or shredded newspaper.
Scarify lawns with a wire rake.
Prune shrub roses, buddleia, late-flowering clematis, cornus, willows, deciduous ceanothus, redcurrants and gooseberries.