Lots of important dates to remember for March: St. David’s Day (March 1); Daylight Saving Time (March 10); St. Patrick’s Day (March 17); first day of spring (March 19); and Easter Sunday (March 31).
WE DIG – DO IT NOW TIPS
· Didn’t get the winter ‘prune done’? Do it now.
· Fertilize rhodos, azaleas and camelias
· Cut down ornamental grasses and sword ferns
· Prune your roses when the forsythia blooms
· Start turning the soil in your vegetable garden
· Apply mulch and well rotted manure to fruit trees, bush and cane fruits
· Bait the garden and flower beds for slugs
· Cut off dead growth and divide crowded perennials. Replant only the outer pieces of a clump in soil replenished with compost and a little bone meal
· If gladiolas and dahlias are sprouted, expose to daylight and divide dahlias by cutting the bulbs between the eyes
· Turn the compost pile and start new ones
· Rake moss from the grass, top dress with peat moss, seed bare spots
· This is a great time to buy spring flowering trees and shrubs
· Fertilize lawns
· Replace old overgrown lavenders and prune young plants
DID YOU KNOW
… the flower of the month is the daffodil meaning affection and sympathy?
… the second Thursday in March is Popcorn Lover’s Day?
… sprinkling coffee grounds over carrot plantings repels the root maggot?
… to make one pound of honey, bees must tap two million flowers?
PICK OF THE MONTH: CROCUS
This plucky, popular bright flower is a harbinger of spring. It comes in many colours. The most common are orange, purple and white. The name comes from the Greek ‘krokos’ meaning saffron yellow. They are referred to as bulbs but are really corms and should be set in clumps or groups to provide a mass of colour.
AND …
What are you doing with that manure? Putting it on my rhubarb. That’s different – we have custard on ours!
Chemainus Communities in Bloom meets on Tuesday, March 19 at 7 p.m. upstairs at the Royal Canadian Legion Hall. Newcomers are always welcome.