March flowers

 

Lift and divide large clumps of hostas before the leaves get big. Slice through the root ball with a spade leaving a few shoots on each piece. Replant the sections back at their original level.

 

Pick off faded flowers from pansies and daffs.

 

Order bedding plants. Order baby fuchsias, geraniums, marguerites and other young plug plants from mail-order suppliers.

 

It's also a good time to order summer-flowering bulbs, such as dahlia, gladioli and eucomis.

 

Hardy annuals. Sow hardy annuals such as calendula, nasturtium, lavateras and cornflowers in shallow drills or patches. They are very reliable and germinate quickly, and a good choice to keep children interested in helping you grow your flowers.

 

Pruning clematis. Summer-flowering clematis varieties that blossom on the current season's growth, such as Clematis 'Etoile Violette', need to have last year's growth pruned out now. Cut any tangled old stems down to a pair of new shoots near ground level as soon as possible.

 

 

 

Divide snowdrops. Lift and divide any congested snowdrops after flowering but while still in leaf. Carefully tease the clumps apart and replant the bulbs at the same depth they were before.

 

Prune honeysuckle. Honeysuckle can be pruned back now if yours has got out of hand. Prune all the shoots to about 1metre from the ground and cut out old or dead shoots. If you can see any green buds below the 1m mark then prune back to just above those. By summer the shoots will have doubled on size.

 

Planting begonia tubers. Plant tubers now in trays of moist compost, barely covering the top. Study the tubers carefully before planting and you will notice that they are convex on one side and concave on the other. The concave side should be uppermost in the pot. Keep them in a warm, bright position, watering when the compost dries out. Pot each one up individually when shoots are 5cm to 7.5cm (2in to 3in) long.