March 2022

Come with me into the woods. Where spring is advancing, as it does, no matter what, not being singular or peculiar, but one of the forever gifts, and certainly visible.

–Mary Oliver

Happy Spring! Winter is behind us, and this last week it has surely felt that way, the days have been warm and the nights quiet mild, we have had some sun, a bit of clouds and rain, but it is Spring! 

While we officially recognize spring on March 20, it has been a week or so now that I have felt spring steadily unfolding itself. Of all the changes that have happened in the last few weeks it is the return of the light that has so dramatically effected me. It is as if in one single day life has simply changed, the slumber of winter shaken off as we find ourselves out more and more. Now one can be out in the garden, the woods or out riding bikes in the neighborhood in the evening for quite some time. There is simply so much daylight left when we finish our work day, it makes you feel like anything is possible.

Almost equally dramatic a shift is the chorus of songs filling the air, and most especially in the morning and evening times. The bird songs are simply incredible, it is funny, because I never realize how much I have missed it, until one evening, either out in my garden or in the wet fields or woodlands edges I am suddenly arrested by the evening chorus and it as if I am suddenly awake when I did not know I slept. This last week, adding to the birds song, the spring peepers have come out. I must admit I have never seen one, they seem elusive. Just the other night we went out search for them. Now of course with three small children we were hardly quiet or still, but in any case we had great fun. We all ended up thoroughly soaked from traipsing through wetland fields and streams to find them, children went in over boots, slipped and fell and mom and dad go sufficiently wet in the retrieval, but it was warm, it was spring and no one was too bothered by it. 

And of course, it is all those little bit of green here and there around the garden that tell you life has returned. There is, of course, the lovely snow drops, nodding their sweet little heads in a light breeze. The crocus popping up here and there, and tips of daffodils, tulips and peony all coming up now. The chives are well out and harvestable. The buds on the lilac and magnolia are swollen and new growth can be seen at the base of many perennials, Iris, sedums, bee balms, and the like. While the landscape is still largely brown, green and hints of other colors have started to emerge, and with this shift in color comes a shift in the energy of the earth itself. 

March is of course a very busy month in the garden. Once the snow leaves us there is a lot to be getting on with. There are seeds to sow, perennials left up over winter to be cleared away, winter pruning to finish, dividing, planting, preparing new beds, mulching, the list goes on. Anything that you can do in March do, for April will be busier, work done in the spring multiplies itself throughout the rest of the growing season.

March Jobs

Seeds

There are so many seeds to be sowing now. I choose a conservative last frost date, because I have found it is always better to be a little late than early with regard to the last frost. So given the range of dates predicted for Essex, I choose to go off of May 16, which puts us now at 8 weeks until last front!

There is simply so much that I will be sowing over the next two weeks… Oriental Poppies, Black eyed Susan, Sweet William, Zinnia, Sweet Alyssum, Snapdragon, various herbs, Tomatoes, some greens, etc. I will be sowing most things in trays in a greenhouse, but if you haven’t got a greenhouse, then a table with some grow lights will work well. You could do a very sunny south facing window sill, but just make sure you are getting full sun in the window, and if not supplement with a grow light to give them an extra few hours. Aim for 8+ hours of direct sun light. And the other thing to pay attention to is the heat the seeds need to germinate, it can very a lot. 

Cutting Back Perennials

My considerations for when to cut back perennials…As spring comes and days are longer and warmer, many plants are starting to respond and send out growth. In general, I like to wait until I see new growth emerging before cutting back perennials. The other thing I like to time is, if a bed has lots of bulbs, I like to cut back before the bulbs are up (if I can / get to it) because then there is less risk that I will accidentally step on the new emerging tips. 

PRUNING LATE FLOWERING CLEMATIS

If you grow clematis and it flowers in late summer and into autumn, then you have late flowering clematis. Late flowering Clematis produces all its flowers on the new growth from the spring. Prune your clematis down to about two feet, make sure you leave at least 2 healthily buds. If you have early flowering clematis, do not prune, though you won’t hurt it by bringing it down, you will dramatically reduce your flowers. 

PRUNING ROSE

I think people are a little afraid of roses, I have been told many times that roses are tricky or difficult. And while I have only been growing rose for the last four years, I have not found that to not be the case. In general I have found roses to be reasonably tough and to respond well to pruning, even if you don’t get it all right. 

One thing I would like to note, is I did an experiment last fall, I decided to prune my rose back in November instead of waiting until March, and I would say I wouldn’t recommend it, they have much more dieback and in general don’t looks as great as when I have pruned them in the spring in previous years. I do think it is good to experiment a bit, every garden is unique and some techniques might work well in someone else’s garden but not so for you, and vice versa. 

First determine what type of rose you have, Hybrid Roses, Shrub Rose, Climbing Rose (true climber and then ramblers).

Hybrid Roses flower on new growth. So they can be pruned more vigorously. Start with dead, disease, damaged, crossing and weak growth. The ultimate form is an open bowl shape.

Shrub Roses need very little pruning, you are looking to maintain shape / form and to prune out dead, diseased or damaged branches, as well as any that are crossing / rubbing. 

True Climbing Roses typically have single, larger flowers over a longer bloom time. The goal is to have a framework of long stems, trained laterally with side branches. The side branches will contain the new growth of the spring and then the flowers that bloom in summer into autumn. They say you can remove about 1/3 of the plant each year, starting with the woodiest growth, so that the plant is constantly renewing itself. 

Ramblers typically have clusters of smaller, simpler blooms that bloom once and then it is done for the season. These roses are very robust and need little pruning. It is best to wait to prune these until after they flower, and then pruning them to train them to ramble on what you will have them. 

CUT BACK ORNAMENTAL GRASSES

We leave the deciduous grasses (miscanthus, calamagrostis, and deschampsia) up all winter, if they produce seed heads, those are utilized by the birds, and it is nice to have their vertical presence for as long as it last. But now is the time, you want to cut them back hard to the ground now, before new green shoots grow too long. Once you finish, give them a good mulch and they will be very happy. If you are thinking of dividing them, wait, grasses don’t particularly love cold wet soil, so wait until later, May or June to dig up and divide. 

FEEDING THE BIRDS

Don’t forget about our winged friends, they are starting their nest building and mating, so leaving out bird seed now can help them through the early spring when their food sources are more scarce. If it is above freeze, I like to set out water for them to drink / splash in. Plus, it is just lovely to have bids in the garden. 

Let me just say one caveat with all the garden jobs…there is the ideal for everything when it should happen and how it should happen(which actually take a bit of trial and error to figure out what is the best time for your garden given the specifics of its own micro climate) , but you know, part of the fun is the process, so don’t fret if you don’t prune this year or start your tomatoes two weeks later, of course the tomatoes might be a little late to the game, but really it’s fine, you will still have tomatoes. Enjoy the process and happy coming of Spring!