Garden Diary: March

The garden this morning. It's just starting to come to life after the winter:

This was taken not much more than a month ago.

After doing lots of pruning through the early spring, it's now time to get sowing! Last week I went and bought a mini-greenhouse, which I'm very pleased with. Much warmer than the garage.

It currently contains Genovese Basil, Dill, Marjoram, Sage, Thyme, Aubretia, Helianthemum, Campanula carpatica, Arabis, mixed salad leaves, May Queen Lettuce, French Marigold, Dwarf Phlox, Nasturtiums, and Tomato 'Gardener's delight' and Leek 'De Carentan' sowed today. It occurs to me that this is a rather weird collection - it's just because they are the ones which can be sown in March of a large collection of seed packets. Many of these are old seed: I am giving them 'half a chance'. I also got a bit carried away in Lidl a couple of time as their seeds are 28p a packet. Will report back on the success of these.

In the Autumn I sowed some seeds which can over-winter. I sowed all of them a bit late, but as they were old seed thought I'd give them that 'half chance'. Lettuce 'Valdor' didn't do a thing, and the Perpetual Spinach popped up but is still not doing much. Soon I will hoof them out and plant spuds in that, my biggest pot. However the Tatsoi sat there an inch or so high throughout all the cold weather underneath a bit of old plastic sheet then a month ago started to make growth. I've tried to transplant some into the empty half of the pot where the 'Valdor' was, but they aren't keen. Will start eating them soon, and will definitely sow some next back end. The seemingly empty pot has garlic in it, sown earlier this week.

Herbs in a strawberry pot, and a collection of rescued and divided plants. The herb pot has a plastic milk bottle with holes in it sunk into the compost behind the top-most thyme. I'm hoping that this will mean that I can get water to all the plants.

I can't resist taking cuttings when I prune, even if it's the wrong time of year. Here's a tray of Hebes waiting to be potted on - when there's room for more pots! Also Rosemary, Red-, Black- and White-currants, Gooseberries and various others. I brought some of these into the garage in the coldest weather, but most seem OK. Cistus and Strawberry Sage cuttings are looking slightly peaky, but these are not very hardy shrubs.

This is where the herb and veg plants are going to go, if not into containers. It's a little plot about 2m square on our very fertile clay. I've just cleared it of perennials, which are waiting in basins to be re-sited. I realised the other day that this part of the garden is almost exactly where I had my first garden, an alpine garden, back when I was 10 or so. I loved the Latin names: Ajuga reptans 'Rainbow' (even if I thought it was Ajuga 'Reptan's Rainbow'!) and the garden did pretty well for an alpine garden on heavy clay.

There are still alpines, but in containers where we can (theoretically) maintain the correct soil conditions. I weeded this one after taking the photo, but it really needs everything taking out and new compost and grit added. When I've time.