By Isle of Wight Observer
At last we’ve seen some welcome sunshine in the garden. In fact, we’ve seen some unusually high temperatures in early March. However, just recently we’ve had some rather chilly days with some night time frosts, reminding us that summer is quite a way off yet.
Our gardens are beginning to burst into life. Spring bulbs are beginning to bloom, perennials are starting to put on some new growth, and, with the sun shining, we are able to get out into the fresh air and start preparing for the new season ahead.
The village flower shows are well underway with Brighstone and Niton and Whitwell last weekend.
Freshwater Horticultural Society has its show on March 29, followed by the Isle of Wight Horticultural Association on April 5.
It’s time to start sowing root crop vegetables, such as carrots, parsnips and beetroot, and you can still plant out shallots and onion sets.
From the middle of April it will be time to get your first early potatoes in.
Other jobs to be done around the garden include pruning back hard your roses, hydrangeas and wisterias.
If you’ve sown your sweet pea seeds back in January, then the plants will need to put outside to harden off prior to planting out in early April.
If you are growing dahlias from cuttings then the tubers should be beginning to produce some young fresh cutting material. Take the cuttings early in the morning or late evening when the sap is highest. Use a good quality compost if you can find one. Unfortunately, for the home gardener, these are becoming as rare as hens teeth!
Sadly there isn’t room in my article for a debate on the subject. Cover the cuttings with newspaper or fleece, to keep any bright sunshine off them for the first week or two.
Don’t forget to look after all the wildlife in your garden. The birds will be starting to nest, so put out plenty of food for them, and the red squirrels are partial to a few hazelnuts.
Happy gardening with much more to come.