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GEOFF'S GARDEN NOTES FOR MARCH

Here we are at the busiest month of the year for gardening. Everything happens at once, the gardens are coming alive with all the spring flowers, the birds are singing and nest building and just as we are ready to get out there and do something it either rains or a hint is dropped that a room in the house needs a make over.

Never mind, go out when you can and if you have any delphiniums or lupins you can take some cuttings when the shoots are about 10cms high, making sure each has a solid base, and set them in pots of compost in a cold frame.

Scatter a general fertilizer around the border plants and roses and gently hoe the surface. If you have any wintering flowering heathers cut off the dead heads in order to keep them compact.

Towards the end of the month, finish pruning climbing roses and deal with hybrid tea and floribundas before the month is out. Cut back the buddlia and shrub lavatera to low down shoots as these will make rapid growth during the year. When these get unmanageable take some young shoots off and root in some compost and replace the old plants with some new ones the following year.

Those of you with greenhouses can start thinking about the halfhardy annuals: petunias, nemesia,asters, marigolds etc. These are all easy to raise and will fill any gaps in your borders with colour.

Once the soil is suitable start vegetable sowings and plant early potatoes at the end of the month. If you have any bare patches where nothing much grows I.e. under shrubs or trees, now is the time to purchase some pots of "in the green" snowdrops, split them up and plant in those spots. Snowdrops thrive better in poor soil so don.t give them any fertilizer.

G. Went

Fred had tahen his grandson to the House of Commons and was up in the gallery watching the proceedings. "Who is that man standing over there on his own?" asked his grandson. "Oh" said Fred, "that's the Chaplain" The grandson then asked "Does he pray for the M.P.'s?". "Not exactly" replied Fred "He looks at the M.P.'s and then prays for the country"

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