March: Clearing the Way for New Growth

By March, you can finally get stuck in — but the key is doing just enough, not too much. A few simple jobs now will keep your garden low-maintenance all season.

🛠 Jobs this month (low-effort focus)

• Cut back perennials — but only after regrowth shows. This way you protect wildlife and enjoy winter structure as long as possible. When you do cut, it’s quick, satisfying work. You can leave the cut material where it lands it you chop it small enough (cut and drop) which is great for habitat and saving time.

• Mulch now — after rain. Spring is the most practical time: beds are clear, soil is damp, and mulch locks in moisture while smothering weeds before they get going.

• Divide groundcover edimentals. Geraniums, sedums, Mexican fleabane — lift and split to fill gaps, suppress weeds, and give you more plants for free.

• Check fruit buds. Apples, pears, cherries — keep an eye on swelling buds, but resist the urge to fuss. Nature’s on the move.

🌿 Plant spotlight: Perennial leeks (Allium ampeloprasum group)

Perennial leeks are a brilliant alternative to annual onions. Plant once, and they come back year after year with little more than a mulch and a feed. You can pull whole plants or harvest them like cut-and-come-again — far less faff than re-sowing every season. Plus, their strappy foliage looks good in an ornamental border.

🪴 A note from my garden

In March, my garden always feels like it’s exhaling. The stems I left all winter are full of tiny green shoots at the base. Cutting them back clears space for new growth, while the mulch goes down like a warm blanket to keep weeds at bay. I do most of my cutting with a hedge trimmer, it takes minutes and enables me to work from the top down, leaving short sections of plant where they fall as a natural mulch. It’s the easiest kind of gardening: a few hours now for months of low-effort abundance ahead.

📖 If you want a hand

• 30 Plants to Beat the Weeds → fill gaps with tough groundcovers before weeds do.

• Beginner Gardener’s Mini-Course → a 30-minute jump-start with FAQs, perfect if you’re new to this approach.

• Self-Sustaining Garden course → big-picture principles for a productive, easy-care garden.
  👉 Browse all freebies & courses here

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Here’s to a fresh start,
Mike
Garden Footprint — real gardens that give more than they take