Now is a great time to prepare your soil for the new season of growing. You will want to loosen and turn the soil in your borders ready for planting as this will allow more air to get into it which will really help encourage good root growth.

Feeding your soil with things like fertiliser and compost will benefit it as they are full of nutrients, making the grown medium more fertile. March is also a great time to mulch your garden as the soil is still weed-free.  Mulching usually refers to spreading a layer of organic material over the surface of the soil but things like gravel and slate can also be used. Mulching your garden in spring with an organic layer serves its purpose by acting as a soil conditioner, repelling weeds and helping to retain moisture in the soil.

It is recommended to test your soil every 2-3 years and remember to wait until the soil is dried out before planting. Take a look at our soil guide for more guidance.

Planting climbers just before spring arrives can be used to brighten up a wall, fence or archway in your garden. Provide a trellis for climbers with twining growth or wires for climbing plants that will want to cling onto something. If planting against a wall, ensure that you plant them slightly away from the wall so they can find moisture and don’t plant too close to drains as this could cause the roots problems later on.

Now is the time to consider pruning your existing climbers before they start to grow new shoots. Removing any dead, diseased, or damaged branches can help to encourage healthy growth. Remember to tie in any new shoots to their support structure to keep them growing in the right direction.

You can now start to plant summer-flowering bulbs such as bare-root roses (provided there are no expected frosts). Make sure that the soil is dry and not frozen or waterlogged during this time and soak the roots in a bucket of water a few hours before planting to rehydrate them. Bare-root roses are usually planted during their dormant season so March is the last month to be able to get them in the ground before spring arrives.

*Remember to dig a hole that is deep enough to accommodate the roots and wide enough to allow for root growth.

Well-rotted manure or compost can be added to the planting hole of the bare-root roses to help with nutrients. It is also a good idea to consider pruning your existing roses if you didn’t get around to doing them in February. Shrub roses will need a tidy-up and other varieties such as tea roses should be cut back to encourage strong new flowers that bear shoots.

Keep an eye out for those pesky slugs and other potential pests! They can cause widespread problems when it comes to eating holes in leaves, stems, flowers etc. New growth can be affected massively by them and are at much greater risk.

There are many ways you can prevent slugs from damaging your plants whether that be non-chemical control or chemical. Some of these ways include moving slugs to a different location such as compost heaps or areas with less vulnerable plants, creating barriers with sharply textured mulches and raking over soil that will allow birds to eat slug eggs that are visible to them. You can also invest in slug pellets, copper tape or beer traps. Regularly check your plants for any signs of damage and remove any slugs or snails you find by hand.