IN THE GARDEN
CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK MARCH 2026 81 Sally Petitt is head of horticulture at Cambridge University Botanic Garden trees and shrubs gracing our gardens, streets and hedgerows, there’s plenty to admire. It’s worth taking a moment to savour the flamboyance of spring blossom, and perhaps even mark the spectacle with your own hanami celebration! like clusters of white- or green-tinged flowers. All are perhaps more subtle in their flowering than their more ornamental counterparts, but they are no less valuable in our landscapes. With such an array of blossom-bearing The stars of the season, however, are the rose relatives whose flowering starts in February with the delicate Japanese apricot ( Prunus mume ). Then follows a succession of floriferous crowd pleasers, such as the white wild cherry Prunus avium , its double form ‘Plena’, as well as the ‘Shogetsu’ and ‘Shirofugen’, whose double pink flowers are widely admired. The great white cherry, Prunus ‘Tai Haku’, whose low, broad form is bedecked with large, single white flowers, is a floral feast. And taking pride of place here on the Botanic Garden’s main lawn is the Yoshino cherry ( Prunus x yedoensis ). It bears single, bowl-shaped, almond-scented, pink- flushed flowers that are a spring highlight! Of course, such flamboyance is not to everyone’s taste. For those with a more discerning palate, the early-flowering cherry ‘Kojo-no-mai’ carries delicate white flowers from March to April, and reaches only 2.5m in height, making it an excellent choice for a planter. Then, flowering later in spring is the crab apple Malus transitoria , whose star-shaped blooms cover the entire canopy – which I admit I always want to dive into! Rounding off the season are a host of natives, including the hawthorn or may flower ( Crataegus monogyna ), whose flat- topped clusters of white flowers adorn many hedgerows; the bird cherry ( Prunus padus ) with its delicate, almond-scented racemes of flowers; and the guelder rose ( Viburnum opulus ), which bears pompom-
1 Finish cutting back herbaceous perennials and ornamental grasses that were left over winter to provide interest and shelter insects. Gardening jobs for March BRIMMING WITH BLOSSOM The Prunus serrulata var. tomantella (above left) and Malus trilobata (top right) are relatives of the rose and stars of the season
2 Tidy borders and vegetable beds, removing both established and newly emerging weeds.
3 Plant summer-flowering bulbs such as lilies, alliums and gladioli.
4 Finish pruning roses and shrubs with coloured winter stems such as dogwoods ( Cornus ).
5 Start mowing the lawn, but set the blade higher than you would in summer.
6 Sow tomatoes and chillies.
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