Winter is coming to a close, which means it's time for green-fingered enthusiasts across the UK to begin preparing for a thriving garden as warmer months approach. However, Monty Don has urged gardeners to begin a crucial task in March to ensure 'vigorous new growth' as the temperatures rise and daylight lasts longer. The BBC Gardeners' World star, 69, issued a range of invaluable tips for a healthy spring garden on his monthly blog, where he highlighted a must-do task: mowing the lawn.
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He wrote: 'The grass will need mowing in March but do not cut it too short. Just give it a light trim for the rest of this month. This will encourage good root growth and as a result the grass will be a lot healthier and better able to resist summer drought.'. According to the horticulturalist, cutting grass too short, also known as "scalping", can not only stress it, but make it vulnerable to diseases and bacteria that can cause significant damage.
Monty advises gardeners to put energy into maintaining healthy grass rather than fighting 'problems' such as moss, ants, worm-casts, dandelions, moles and more. If the grass is healthy, the gardening expert assures that 'everything else will look after itself.'. However, if the garden is covered in moss, it could indicate poor drainage, which caused by too much shade. Monty Don has urged gardeners to begin a crucial task in March to ensure 'vigorous new growth' as the temperatures rise and daylight lasts longer.
To combat the issue, Monty advises to stick a fork in the ground and 'wiggle it about,' repeating the process every six inches, before filling the holes with equal portions of sieved topsoil, sharp sand and sieved leaf mould or compost. The task should be carried out at least once a year to achieve optimum results. To remove overwintering thatch and moss, and ensure 'thicker than ever' regrowth, Monty added: 'Give the lawn a good scratch with a wire rake and let light and water get to the soil and to the roots of the grass.
'Put the debris on the compost and then mow. It will look a little bald for a week or so but will grow back thicker than ever.'. Issuing further spring gardening tips, Monty says that March is a good time to begin planting and moving things around - but you need to check the soil is 'ready' first. He said: 'The only way to know this is by touch. Pick up a handful of earth. If it feels cold and clammy to the skin then seeds will not germinate and roots will not grow.
'If it feels warm, holds together when squeezed and yet can easily be crumbled then it is ideal.'. One of Don's top recommendations is pruning, a vital practice to encourage healthy growth and shape trees and shrubs. Monty advises gardeners to put energy into maintaining healthy grass rather than fighting 'problems' such as moss, ants, worm-casts, dandelions, moles and more. As the last frosty days of winter wane, Don advises gardeners to assess their trees and shrubs, and remove dead or damaged branches to promote new growth and maintain the overall health of the plant.
Don states that the first two weeks of March is the best time to begin pruning shrubs and climbers, and that gardeners should resist temptation to prune during a mild February as the regrowth can then be stunted by a late frost. Weeding is another essential task on Don's spring checklist, as well as planting woody species of shrubs. By diligently removing weeds before they have a chance to take root and spread, gardeners can ensure that their prized flowers and vegetables have the best possible chance to thrive.
Monty's advice comes after the BBC star revealed he and his wife were stuck inside their Gardeners' World house in January after being 'flooded in.'. The horticulturist and broadcaster posted videos onto social media last month of floodwater surrounding his home in Longmeadow in Herefordshire. His garden usually acts as the backdrop for the hit BBC gardening show that Don has hosted since returning to the programme in 2011, but instead it was completely submerged following the latest bout of stormy weather.
