This Month in Your Garden - March

March winds and April showers bring forth May flowers. English proverb.

Spring in the northern hemisphere begins on the 20th of March but for the gardener, it is already well underway. The snowdrops and crocus planted last year are soon accompanied by the bright faces of primrose and daffodils, Muscari, Hyacinth, bluebells and Lily of the Valley. Fruit trees blossom and Fritillary show their ponderous heads, while pansies and polyanthus brighten containers and hanging baskets by the door.

The Lawncare Guide - March

Know your lawn and how to cut it 

With relatively mild weather in our area, the grass had already started into growth in February. This month most areas can expect strong growth and the tendency is to get out and give it a good haircut. But if you have been reading the Gardener’s Journal for a while you will know you need to start with a high cut and gradually lower with successive mowing.

Lawn Care: Questions & Answers

 Q. I’ve been told I should ‘overseed’ in March for a thick, lush grass but that I need to scarify first. Is that correct? 

The Vegetable Plot - March

‘Springtime is the land awakening, the March winds are the morning yawn.’ Lewis Grizzard 

Whatever the weather is doing there’s a host of vegetables you can start sowing indoors in a warm room or in heated propagators. Tomatoes, sweet peppers, chilli peppers and aubergines are high on the list. When the ground warms up you can get going outside by removing over-wintered greens from the vegetable plot. 

Freeze any extra vegetables such as spinach and beans for later. 

The Big Glut Recipe - March

Leek and greens lasagne

By Rosie Birkett for BBC Good Food

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for the tin
• 50g butter
• 1 bay leaf
• Rosemary sprig, leaves picked and roughly chopped
• 3 leeks, cleaned and rough green ends discarded, 1 finely sliced and 2 cut into medium slices
• 40g plain flour
• 500ml milk
• fresh nutmeg, for grating
• 100g cheddar, grated
• 30g parmesan, grated
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• ½ green chilli, sliced
• 400g mixed green leaves, such as kale, chard and spinach, roughly chopped
• 100ml dry white wine
• 100g walnuts
• 280g jar preserved artichoke hearts in oil, drained
• 100g ricotta
• 6 dried lasagne sheets