We would like to wish all our customers a Happy St. Patrick's Day!
If you're looking to take advantage of the bank holiday weekend by spending some time in the garden, there are a number of jobs you can be doing at this time of year.
For those keen to 'Grow Your Own', St. Patrick's day is traditionally the time to plant first early potatoes with second earlies to follow in early April and maincrop usually planted mid to late April. However, with the weather we have been having here in the north-west, you may want to hold off planting for another week as we may have some slightly warmer and dryer days ahead of us. We would recommend you get your seed potatoes now though as we have limited stock available and these are sure to move pretty quickly. You can read our 'Guide to Growing Your Own Potatoes' here >>>
Broad Bean seeds can can be sown direct but if you're worried the soil may still be too wet you can still sow them in pots or root-trainers planting later this spring. Early peas and carrots can be sown outside under cloches if the soil is workable and this is a good time to start off tomato and pepper seeds if you haven't already as the window of opportunity to do these and ensure a harvest later in the year will be coming to a close soon.
Hardy annuals such as poppies, cornflower and borage can be sown direct on well prepared ground, free of seeds and raked to a fine tilth. Sweet Peas can be sown under cover and there are a range of summer bulbs which can be planted out in March, although, again, if the ground is particularly wet where you are, you may want to hold off until April for better results.
March is also a good time to tidy up perennials and cut back old growth. Shrub roses can be pruned removing anything that looks unhealthy and after pruning, this is also a good time to apply some rose feed. You can also prune back Buddleia and Lavatera quite hard and give Cotinus a light prune to encourage new growth. Cutting back dogwoods/cornus will also provide next winter's colour.
As the soil starts to warm this is also a great time for planting just about anything else from roses and perennials to trees and shrubs. We are also approaching the end of bare-root season, so it's a good idea to get these in as soon as possible before the growing season really takes off and they exit their dormant spell.
This is also a great time to start thinking about lawns. We have everything you need for that perfect patch of green so be sure to visit us in-store.
Finally, if you just fancy putting the garden to one side for now, you can always pop in to Ardcarne Garden Café in our Boyle centre and enjoy a relaxing lunch.
Our Garden Centres are open on St Patrick's day and Bank-Holiday Friday from 12pm to 6pm and Ardcarne Garden Café will be serving teas, coffees and lunches from 12pm to 5pm.
