There’s something about March.
The light changes. The birds begin a little earlier. The soil, slowly, gently, starts to warm. After months of planning, sketching, and seed-catalogue dreaming by the fire, this is the month we begin again.
At Lowden, March is about quiet momentum. It’s not a frantic month – but it is an important one. The work you do now sets the tone for the entire growing season.
Start with the Soil
Before any sowing or planting, step back and look at your beds. March is ideal for clearing away the last of the winter debris and refreshing borders with a generous layer of compost or well-rotted manure. Not digging wildly — just nourishing. Let the worms do the work.
If your soil is heavy, resist the urge to tread on it when it’s wet. Patience here pays dividends in summer.
Sow with Intention
In the greenhouse or on a bright windowsill, this is prime sowing time.
Hardy vegetables such as peas, broad beans, spinach and early carrots can go directly into the ground toward the end of the month, weather permitting. Under cover, you can begin tomatoes, chillies and sweet peas — small acts now that feel almost ceremonial.
Sow thinly. Label everything. Water gently. There is no rush.
For flower lovers, March is when sweet peas, cosmos, larkspur and hardy annuals begin their journey. It’s the promise of colour stitched into seed trays.
Potatoes & Early Crops
If you’ve been chitting your seed potatoes on a cool windowsill, they’ll be ready for planting later this month. Choose a sunny, well-drained spot and plant them deep — you’ll earth them up as they grow.
It’s one of the most satisfying rituals of the year. Potatoes feel honest. Grounded. Abundant.
You can also plant onion sets and shallots now. Tuck them in firmly but leave the tips just showing — a quiet signal of what’s to come.
Divide & Refresh
March is also the perfect time to divide established perennials before they burst into growth. Clumps of ornamental grasses, hostas or hardy geraniums can be lifted and split, breathing new life into tired borders and giving you new plants for free.
It’s sustainable gardening at its best — generous and practical.
Prepare for the Pace Ahead
Clean tools. Wash pots. Check stakes and supports. Order anything you’ve forgotten.
March rewards the organised gardener.
And finally, step outside in the late afternoon light. Notice the buds swelling on fruit trees. Listen for bees on the first crocus. The garden is stirring — and you are part of that rhythm.
This is not about perfection. It’s about participation.
A little done well now means abundance later — bowls of salad in June, armfuls of dahlias in August, the kind of garden that feels quietly, confidently alive.
March is where it all begins again.
