The March Garden

The March garden is showing promise! M was here on Thursday to work her usual magic and it's looking so much better now. Apologies for the dark photos but they were taken early in morning when the sun was on the front of the house.


All the roses have starting putting out new growth and the three clematis are all developing their first buds. The white one will be the first to flower but I don't think the burgundy and the pink ones will be far behind this year.


We think the salvias and penstemon have survived but we're not sure about the three gaura plants or the potato vine.  It's still early for them so it's a case of wait and see what happens ... I will replace them if they haven't survived the snow and frosts as they are close to the top of my list of favourites. I do have a lot of favourites though! The alliums are starting to grow, just the leaves at the moment but they should be in flower in April.

The centre bed has some tulips and a solitary daffodil (!). This is where the cosmos will go. I'm not having any cosmos in pots this year, just in the centre bed.



Looking back up towards the house there are eight pots ready to be filled with this years annuals as well as four, now empty, pots which were filled with the perennial nemesia. They didn't survive the frosts but I think I will buy some more for this year ... they were such a pretty pink and brightened up the view from the dining room. 

I need to speak to neighbour S to see when he can do the pergola, or at least line the planters so we can start filling them. There's no real rush as we won't be planting until the risk of frost has passed but I would like to get it done. 

The old trellis on the back wall of the house is going and I'll add a couple of hanging basket brackets instead. 



All the bulbs are doing well. Crocuses and daffodils are providing bright splashes of purple and yellow and, while everything else is late this year, the pink tulips have decide to make an early appearance.


The pieris still has plenty of flowers ... it's the best it's ever looked this year. 


The two spirea plants are looking good. I may have lost the three fuchsia plants but they haven't been removed yet. We've decided to keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best, although they'll definitely be replaced if necessary.


I've placed my first plant order for 2023 and will soon be the happy recipient of some more crocosmia. I have a few of the crocosmia lucifer (red) already and have ordered some more to add height and colour to the other side of the garden. I've also ordered a few crocosmia George Davidson (yellow). The yellow ones were an impulse purchase but I'm not regretting it yet! I fancy having some bright splashes of yellow in this year's summer garden.

M was on board about trying to grow some edibles in the hanging baskets this year. We've agreed on one of the trailing tomato variety in maybe a couple of pots but that's as far as we've got so far and that's not a definite. I'm trying to decide how much I'll miss the flowers so it may end up being three baskets of trailing fuchsias, two of cherry tomatoes and one of raspberries. The main issue is the watering with the tomatoes and raspberries as the baskets are always greedy for water and I have planned three other trips away during the summer so it's a lot to ask someone to take on the daily watering task.  

Comments

  1. Looking good. The Pieris is really pretty.

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    1. Thanks Carole. I love the pieris. After it has flowered it will produce this year's new growth and the leaves start out a beautiful burgundy colour. xx

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  2. Your garden is starting to wake up from it's winter nap! It looks very tidy, too, and the pots of spring bulbs are providing spots of color, already! Can you get some of those self-watering devices for the hanging planters for when you go on vacation? They are attached to bottles of water and have valves that regulate the rate of flow. If you water the planters well before you go on vacation and stick several water bottles into each planter, maybe they won't need to be watered daily?

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    1. I've tried the self watering devices before without much success. It may be worth looking at what's available now as that was a few years ago, so thanks for the suggestion. xx

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  3. It's really lovely to see some colour after the drab and miserable winter months we've had. Your garden is looking great with plenty of healthy plants having survived and it looks very tidy. I think one of my fuchsias has had it but I'm not up to doing anything in the garden just yet. I will definitely need a trip to the garden centre but not yet a while. Your hanging baskets were gorgeous last year and a mix of fruit and plants sounds good if that's what you decide to do but daily watering is a problem if the summer is hot and you are away so wise to consider that. xx

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    1. I've been lucky and haven't lost too many plants over the winter.

      The watering side of the hanging baskets needs some thought as I don't want to be fretting about them while I am away but it will also be good to have something in place to help with the water even when I'm at home. xx

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  4. Your garden is starting to wake up. I hope the fuchsia survived. Could you take your hanging baskets to someone's home for them to care for while you're away on holidays? I have a friend who delivers several garden pots to my back garden when she goes away for summer holiday. I don't mind caring for them. Hanging pots would hold more water than baskets, too.

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    1. Sadly I think the fuchsias have died but I can hope!

      I like your idea about taking the baskets to friends ... I will give that some thought. xx

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  5. Yes, it does look very neat and tidy and full of hope. I haven't even thought about gardening yet this year and should probably take a leaf out of your book! I think you have more blooming; I have a few daffs and polyanthus, some hellebores and the very beginnings of hyacinths. It is heartening. No sign of tulips yet, nothing at all on the pieris, and I, too, fear the loss of a couple of beautiful fuchsias. :o( That's a very pretty crocus.

    Dare I say the word "squares" or is that project now a write-off?
    (Only mentioning it while I can since I'm having major issues commenting on many blogs. The one browser that still worked after all that trouble some weeks ago now doesn't, and another browser will sometimes let me in and sometimes won't. It seems I can usually comment on a post that I have already commented on but rarely on new posts, not even anonymously ... but as no-one else has mentioned this lately I guess it resolves automatically in the end. moan moan moan...)

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    1. I'm not sure what's happening about squares either. I can't get the photos from my old phone and don't seem to be able to load photos from my new one. Frustrating doesn't even begin to cover it! I haven't given up yet though.

      I was fed up with the garden looking a mess so I asked M to start her fortnightly visits. It's too early to do much but I'm happy that it looks tidier.

      You're not alone. I have issues with commenting and so do a couple of others bloggers I know. I'm hoping it will resolve itself soon. xx

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  6. It's beginning to look lovely. We're back to snow today and it's covered all the garden. It has to end soon, right?

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    1. I hope it does end soon for you and you can start to enjoy a few snow free months. xx

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  7. It all looks really lovely. Hold fire with the fuchsias though - they are tougher than they look and mine have come up year after year.

    Regarding phone photos - I send them to my email and then open the email on my PC. A bit long winded but it works.
    xx

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    1. I'm not expecting anything from the fuchsias until June at the earliest. That's when they woke up last year. Mine are in pots so don't know if that makes a difference.

      I haven't tried emailing the photos so will see what happens. Thanks. xx

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