Well, maybe not quite with silver bells and cockle shells and pretty maids all in a row, but thanks to garden designer/author Marianne Alexander, we’re able to bring you some tips on garden maintenance in March
Summer is nearly over, and as the shadows lengthen, we can expect cooler days ahead, which makes gardening a pleasure. It’s time to start tidying up, while enjoying the last flush of flowers from perennials like Michaelmas daisies, dahlias and plectranthus. Berries will also have started to change colour.
The cooler nights induce the development of flowers in plants such as cymbidium orchids, aloes and bergenias, so pay special attention to them. At the same time, growth of other plants will slow down and the leaves of many deciduous plants will be starting to colour and will soon drop: save these leaves to make your own leaf mould.
Go veg bru: make a veggie garden
There’s plenty to do in the garden as you prepare not just for the winter ahead but also for spring. Turn your efforts to preparing beds for the autumn planting of winter and spring flowering bedding plants. Take time to plan your spring garden, then select and buy bulbs while they are still freely available, but don’t plant them yet as it’s still too hot. You can also put some blubs aside for winter colour in your home.
Important tasks
The flower garden:
Prepare beds for autumn planting. Dig plenty of compost into the top 30cm, turning over the soil as you do so. Add a handful of general fertiliser to each square metre, along with dustings of hood and horn and bone meal several weeks before planting.
Pick out seedlings germinated from seeds sown in February and plant them in punnets with individual compartments. Water the newly planted seedlings with an organic food and growth hormone.
Self-sown seedlings of primulus, linarias and heart’s-ease (Johnny-jump-up violas) must be kept damp. Thin out overcrowded clusters and use “thinnings” to fill gaps in the garden.
Bulbs
Buy bulbs as soon as they are available and store them in a cool, dark place until ready to use. Now is the time to order treated tulip bulbs. Divide over-sized Inca lilies (Alstromeria) only if necessary, as they take time to settle again and come into flower. Divide overcrowded evergreen agapanthus.
Perennials
Cut back faded perennials. Pull out the old flowering stems of over crowded clumps and fill the gap with compost.
Roses
Continue to feed and apply preventative fungicides in warm regions. In colder areas, give a last feed of general fertiliser or an organic equivalent.
Watering
As the weather cools, the garden will need less water: adjust your automatic watering system accordingly.
Lawns
Feed lawns with 3:1:5 or a high potash organic fertiliser to strengthen and build up reserves in cool-season grasses.
Pruning
Now is the time to prune mid to late summer flowing shrubs and trees which have ceased flowering, such as the butterfly bush and bottlebrushes. Remove the smooth, red-brown water shoots found at the base of bougainvilleas as they appear.
Kitchen garden:
Plant brinjals, leeks, tomatoes, peppers, Swiss chard and cucumbers (and a few rows of carrots and beetroot if required). Feed your banana, mango and avo trees with a general balanced fertiliser that is suitable for the soil in your area. Maintain a good mulch and water your tropical fruit trees every to three weeks if insufficient rain has fallen.
- Taken from Gardening in South Africa throughout the Year, by Marianne Alexander, published by Struik Lifestyle (an imprint of Random House Struik).
- ISBN: 978 177 007 7091