8 gardening jobs for March..

Your home is for sale and you want to show it to its best advantage, which means now’s the month to get busy in the garden both repairing winter’s damage and preparing for a colourful summer.

Your home might sell super-fast, but some homes take a little time to find their new owners, so while you hope for the former, being prepared for the latter is a good idea. Here are eight jobs you should be doing in the garden this March to bring it to its best.

1. Clean the patio

During the winter there will have been a build-up of dirt and debris, so give it a good sweep and have some fun with the jet wash. If you haven’t got, or can’t borrow, a jet wash, mix up a bucketful of hot water and white vinegar and go at it with a garden broom. You’ll be amazed at how much the colour of your patio changes with a good clean, giving it a fresh and cared for look when viewers arrive

2. Get the garden furniture out and give it a clean

Hot water and vinegar works really well on plastic or metal garden furniture. If you have a wooden table and chairs, mix up a mild solution of hot water and washing up liquid, give it all a good sponge down and then rinse with a hose. 

3. Check all the outside lighting is working

Replace blown bulbs, clear away signs of spiders and other insects and give all fittings a wipe down

4. Get the gutters cleaned

This is definitely a job for a professional! Dead leaves and moss from the roof can build up over winter, so to prevent dripping gutters creating unattractive stains on your soffits or walls, get them regularly cleaned.

5. Start weeding

As the daffodils show their colours, so do weeds. March and April is the time when weeds start to germinate, so get them out while they’re still little and before they get their roots in deep. Start getting on top of it now and it will be so much easier once the weather really warms up.

6. Plant summer bulbs

Agapanthus, gladioli, freesias, alliums – they all provide a real hit of colour and style in the garden and are so easy to grow. By the end of March/start of April, the earth is warming up and is still wet and easy to get your spade or trowel into. Buy your bulbs, find a gap and plant. By early summer they’ll be pushing up into the beds and presenting your – and potential buyers – with a glorious sight.

7. Sort your patio pots

Many homeowners prefer to keep garden care simple by having an expanse of lawn and limited beds. Patio pots are a very easy way to add the colour and freshness of flowers. If you have them already, it’s time to empty them out and give them a wash. Either stack them somewhere in an attractive style, or tuck them away out of sight. Alternatively, refill with potting compost and they’re ready to be filled with pretty bedding plants when the risk of frost is over in May.

8. Sort out your lawn

Trim the edges of the lawn around any flower beds or borders, and rake dead grass out of any areas it may have died back in last summer’s dry spell. Rake the soil hard to lift and loosen, then scatter grass seed. You may scatter seed a few times, as the birds are hungry this time of year. If you have patches of moss, invest in some moss killer and as soon as it turns black, rake it out and scatter some grass seed.

Eddie – Friday 3rd March 2023 – (Picture used from Victoria Road, Whalley Range).