What kind of March will this be?

Hello <<First Name>>,
Typically, March is the hardest month for me. The more plentiful sunshine and better angle of the light make me feel like it ought to be spring--but it's not. The first half of March is still snowy and in fact is the most likely time to have a blizzard. The second half of March is mud season, where you never know whether it will be spring or winter when you get up in the morning. But the tail end of this February has already ushered in mud season, and I've been able to do some mud season chores two to three weeks earlier than I might have expected. So now I don't know what to expect!

I just hope it's not a repeat of last late winter/early spring, where we did have an early start to spring, all the way up until April, when a polar vortex came through and ruined everything that had broken dormancy. No forsythia, no redbuds, no magnolias, no lilacs--and my sturdy foundation yews were severely set back, and my Japanese maple was killed above the graft. No, Winter can take its sweet time leaving, as long as when it leaves, it's gone for good!

GARDEN CHORES

What to do in March

Trim the beaten-up leaves on your hellebores, especially if you have H. niger or other hybrids that bloom in late winter or early spring. Watch carefully for the new growth coming up. Cut back catmint and columbine next. More clean-up tips here.
Prune your shrubs and trees before the snow melts, if you can. But with shrubs that tend to have a lot of dieback here, like roses and butterfly bush, I wait until I see a tiny bit of growth. That way, it's obvious how much has died and I don't cut anymore off than I need to. For hydrangeas, it depends on what kind you have. You should only prune dead wood on Hydrangea macrophylla.
While you're out there pruning, cut some forsythia branches to force inside. (Check out the forsythia quotes at the end of the newsletter.)
Take pictures where the snow melts first. That's where you need to plant bulbs next fall.
Check plants, especially coral bells (Heucheras) for heaving, especially if you've been having a lot of alternating thaws and freezes.
Tidy your garden shed. And your seed-starting corner.
Here's one I don't follow so well: get your body in shape for the next gardening season. Anything you can do to improve your strength or flexibility will stand you in good stead when the gardening season starts in earnest. I haven't lifted weights in years, so do as I say, not as I do!

FROM THE ARCHIVES

More March Musings

Using happenings in the natural world to guide your gardening chores.
For example, when you hear the peepers it's time to plant peas. It's called phenology. Read more!

Some fancy daffodils
I indulge in some specialty daffodils because . . . well, just because! Read more!

EVENTS

Hear Kathy Speak

I'd love to meet you at one of these events:
March 15th: Colchicums: Autumn's Best-Kept Secret, Ithaca, NY
June 13th: Colchicums, Greene, NY
September 19th, Colchicums, LaFayette, NY
October 6th, Cabin Fever, Sturbridge, MA

For more details, check out the complete schedule here.

SPECIAL DEAL!

CCG ELSEWHERE

F O L L O W on F A C E B O O K

F O L L O W on T W I T T E R

F O L L O W on I N S T A G R A M

F O L L O W on P I N T E R E S T

B R O W S E our A R C H I V E S

QUOTATION

ARE YOU A FORSYTHIA SNOB?

Forsythias are positively common. The old hybrids of Forsythia suspensa and F. viridissima grow everywhere in American suburban gardens, a fact that only exacerbates the general vulgarity of their display. For the whole thrust of hybridizers in creating these plants was to produce ever-brighter shades of chrome yellow, and ever more of it. These hybrids, varieties of Forsythia x intermedia, are represented at their best (or worst, we would say) by the cultivars 'Beatrix Farrand', 'Karl Sax', 'Lynwood', and 'Specatbilis'--all rather stiffly upright growing with large flowers of a brassy, screaming yellow. From A Year at North Hill, by Wayne Winterrowd and Joe Eck.

OR A FORSYTHIA FAN?

Forsythia is pure joy. There is not an ounce, not a glimmer of sadness or even knowledge in forsythia. Pure, undiluted, untouched joy. From Bring Me a Unicorn by Anne Morrow Lindbergh

See you next month! Until then, Keep calm and garden on!