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MARCH

GARDEN GROW? Anna Taylor, owner of Anna’s Flower Farm in Audley End, shares what’s going on in the garden this month How does your I s March the most optimistic month?

Here’s my pitch for yes. It’s the first month of spring, there are daffodils – the most cheerful flower – aplenty, and it’s the month of the vernal equinox, when day and night is roughly equal length: after this, the pendulum tips with more day than night through to late June. Clocks leap forward for British Summer Time, meaning longer evenings, and finally, even the name March is optimistic. I like the definitions ‘proceed or advance inexorably’ or ‘steady and inevitable development or progress’. Couple that with the word ‘spring’ and March is a real mover and shaker, optimistically skipping towards the light. In the garden, there are signs of growth and much to be hopeful for. Buds swelling on trees and bulb tips pushing through the ground. Remember, it is not a race and certainly not a sprint. We are blinking out of our wintering den. Wake up slowly. This month straddles the end of the winter and beginning of spring, meaning tasks in both seasons can be done with good results; finishing off jobs from the previous year, and starting off the new. Shrubs, trees and hedging can still be planted. Hard wood cuttings should be at their most reliable to establish now – taken just before spring bud-burst. Last call for bare root roses, too. As the soil warms up and light levels rise, perennials settle in and get away. I am trying to plant as much as I can. March is one of the most important spots in the calendar for tasks like this. As fresh growth comes through the old, I cut back the dead stems of perennials. I know old season’s stems and seed heads protect the crown of the plant, feeding and sheltering wildlife, but when I cut back, the story of last year is gone and the new one ready for its turn. This immediately smartens up the borders. Hardy annual seeds can be started indoors, and a windowsill of seedlings is

© ANNA TAYLOR

MARCHING FORWARD Spring is here, and with it the promise of a glorious summer ahead – plus daffodils galore

a very hopeful sight. These are plants that germinate, grow, bloom and set seed all in one year. Since they can tolerate cold, these can be sown and planted out before the last frost date for earlier flowers. The same for many vegetables, too. Cutting something to eat or arrange is incredibly satisfying. There is so much opportunity and potential for the growing year right now. That’s one of the most enjoyable aspects of gardening. A ‘fail’, or mistake, never really matters for long; another year will come round and have a go. Plants want to grow! It’s not like we are working against

ourselves. A garden is a partnership: one of those where you never argue, that gets better with more attention and love. A beautiful garden is evidence of a gardener listening, being considerate and working with – rather than against – the other. A gardener knows the true meaning of delayed gratification and optimism. In horticulture, instant is what happens in a whole growing season. Enjoy that fresh start with great hope and optimism. Anna runs Anna’s Flower Farm, where she teaches and writes about how to grow and arrange flowers. Book a new seed sowing online class this month, or order wedding, event and ready-to-arrange flowers to be collected from the plots. Sign up for her weekly newsletter at annasflowerfarm.com

A garden is a partnership: one of those where you never argue

98 MARCH 2023 CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK

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