Get tips and ideas from my cottage garden in March- see what's blooming in early spring, what needs to be done, and what you can start growing.
As a way to welcome the new gardening season, I decided to take you on a little tour of our cottage garden, from front to back and out to the vegetable garden, too. As we tour, I'll be sharing:
- what varieties bloom in early spring
- garden chores you can do in March and April
- what you can start planting now, both in the flower border and vegetable garden
So let's get started!
Front Cottage Garden
The perennial and shrub garden in front of our porch is shown more completely in the first picture - you can see a lot of green and three things blooming: daffodil and grape hyacinth bulbs and the blue flowers of brunnera, one of my favorite perennials. Two more bulbs will bloom through April- scilla and tulips - and the brunnera will keep blooming until almost June (it's a great plant!).
You can see how much our honeybees love the early spring blooms of grape hyacinth, so not only do the early blooms brighten our lives, it helps the bees, too.
Also in full bud and just starting to bloom are bearded iris, which are SO easy to grow and provide green spear-like foliage for the rest of the season.
So if you'd like to add more early spring blooms you'll want to plant:
- Fall planted bulbs like crocus (Feb. to early March here-they've already finished blooming), daffodils, grape hyacinth, scilla (which can get out of hand, so be careful...), and tulips.
- Common brunnera and Jack Frost brunnera (variegated leaves)
- shrubs like azalea and dwarf rhododendron (or regular sized for larger areas)
- Bearded iris
Back Cottage Garden
In our long back border, you'll see a lot of the same blooms (when I like something, I plant it multiple places...), AND some things that need to be done soon (always a part of a gardener's life, right?).
Chores that need to be done in early spring:
- pruning of summer-blooming shrubs, if needed for shaping (like the large shrub on the right)
- weeding large clumps & perennial weeds like dandelion and then:
- layer newspaper & mulch over the smaller weeds to kill & keep the weeds at bay for the rest of the season
- mowing and edging
This small patio border is waiting for its newspaper and mulch topping, but before I do I need to plant a perennial in a spot where I lost one last year. When your ground is workable, spring is a good time to plant perennials so they have enough time to develop roots well with the spring rains.
Favorite perennials that provide a lot of blooms with minimum upkeep include:
- Hardy geranium
- Lady's mantel
- Black-eyed Susan
- Stella D'Oro daylily
- Autumn Joy sedum
You can get more details on these and my other favorite no-fail perennials and shrubs here and here.
Vegetable Garden
Out in the fruit and vegetable garden, the blueberry bushes are budding up nicely. If you have blueberries, they really appreciate a layer of mulch to conserve water, prevent weeds and add organic matter. They also like acid soil which can be achieved with fertilizers like blood meal and cottonseed meal (manures may damage the plants).
I like to mulch with pine needles that drop from our trees in the fall since they help make the soil acid.
Asparagus should have been cut back and layered with compost in January or February - and you will be seeing the first shoots in established beds (you can get lots more information on how to grow asparagus - plus how to use it -in my Ultimate Asparagus Guide). My beds have been here for years and they produce a few handfuls in late March, before producing abundantly April through June.
Another March chore is to cover all your bigger vegetable areas with black plastic to use solar power to kill the weeds over the next month or two before planting with a no-till method that reduces the need to weed dramatically!
In northern gardens March and April is the time to plant these vegetables:
- seeds: spinach, lettuce, and other cool-weather greens like kale & chard
- onion starts or sets
- seeds: peas
- potatoes (if your ground is workable - it's okay to wait until later if you need to)
- seeds: (main crops in April) beets, carrots, endive, lettuce, peas, radishes, spinach, turnips, rutabagas
- plant starts (in April): broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, leeks
Whew. While it seems like a lot, you don't have to do all your gardening tasks at once- and it's fun to finally be out digging in the garden again, right?
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Angie Rose says
Your front garden is really pretty! I’ve always been a big fan of the cottage garden style, and hope to turn my garden into one slowly. I’m looking forward to my first honeybee sighting this season, patiently waiting for that. I love the design of your back garden, and the rock border is super nice! I’m hoping to really work hard this year on edging. Always not a fun task, but needs to get done. Everything in your zone blooms a tad earlier then it does here. Your post has me excited for the upcoming month!
Joi says
Hi ! Am also new to here, so am glad to be here.
I have been gone from home for the past several days, so when I drove in I was glad to see so many of my early spring bulbs blooming profusely.
Great idea of indicating growing zones. I am in what is typically known as zone 8, but because I am so close to the foothills of the Cascade Mountains in Oregon I often find our 'micro-climate' is nearer to zone 7. Heck ! I'll go with either one.
Jami says
Welcome, Joi! Yes, I'm in the Willamette Valley, too - zone 8 - but we have a strong west wind that creates microclimates as well on our property, so it's always figuring out what works for you - which is sometimes different in different areas of our own yards! 🙂
Shelly says
Your garden is looking lovely already. I'm trying your black plastic method of killing those weeds this year. The weeds were just a mess last year in my garden beds. I've two of my raised beds covered to see how it works. I ended up tilling one of my beds this year since I just didn't get it covered soon enough to plant my peas. I'm hoping it works as well for me as it does for you. 🙂
Jami says
I hope so, too, Shell!
Michelle Marine says
Your garden is so far ahead of ours. I love the bulb and flower blooms in your garden and I really need to put down some black plastic. Thanks for the reminder. 🙂
Jami says
The plastic's not lovely, but seeing it down makes me happy because = less weeding. 🙂
Diane says
Hi Jami,
You have a lovely flower garden. It's definitely time to get started on those spring garden projects. We have been weeding like crazy this month to get a step ahead. I love your bordered beds full of Spring blooming flowers. Such promise for a lovely growing season!
Michèle Nadeau Crawford says
Hello Jami! I'm a new visitor to your cottage gardens, and must say that they are very beautiful. I'm just a few hedgerows over from you, in Salem, and will enjoy future visits. I'm thankful that we are in the same gardening zone which makes your information and ideas very pertinent. Happy gardening! Happy Spring!
Jami says
Welcome, Michele - so nice to have you! I have written a lot on gardening over the last 7 years - you can check out the posts under the Organic Gardening tab to see. My overall theme? Keep it EASY. 🙂
Dee says
Opps...should read ....each blogger state the Sunset growing zone.....
Dee says
I think this blog hop is a terrific idea! May I suggest that each blogger at the Sunset growing zone for their personal area; almost every gardener knows of the Sunset zones and a quick online search for info. That way we will know what works in our own area. Hopefully your team of bloggers are in different areas and be beneficial to all the readers. And a recap in the Fall of the Spring bloomers we should be planting for Spring 2017. So looking forward to the coming months of the posts.
Jami says
That's a great idea, Dee, I'll mention that to our group!
pam says
Your borders are gorgeous! Love how you used the large stones for edging! Thanks for all your tips. I've added a few more items to my t-do list 🙂
Jami says
Thanks, Pam! The rocks started out because we had a number on the property when we bought it, but then it became years of gathering rocks from places so we could finish the border, ha!