Tasks in March.

Flower garden

Lift and divide all manner of perennial plants.Herbs such as chives, sage, thyme and mint. Hebaceous perennials including Geranium, Astrantia, Oriental poppies, Hostas and Hellebores.Bulbs in the green such as snowdrops and winter aconites.
Sow under cover summer bedding, hardy annuals and herbs such as coriander, parsley, chervil, chives, fennel and marjoram
Sweet peas can be sown outdoors, plants sown last year should be brought on under cover.
Plant summer flowering bulbs.
Finish cutting back last years plants left for winter interest.Start putting plant supports in place.
Pot up cuttings tender perennials and take further cuttings as required.
Start off dahlias, they may be propagated by planting tubers in multi-purpose compost so that the old stalk is just above the surface.
Deadhead winter bedding, narcissi etc.
Check whether containers need watering. Pots and tubs need renovating by pruning plants and topping up/replacing with fresh John Innes compost.
Feed borders with a general-purpose fertiliser (Growmore 1 kg per 10 square meters).
Protect new growth on lilies, delphiniums, hostas and any other plants affected by slugs and snails. Pests and disease can multiply rapidly if we have mild weather, start treating roses etc.

Trees and shrubs

>Continue to plant deciduous hedging, shrubs, trees and climbers. Ditto roses. Evergreen trees and shrubs can be moved.
Prune established bush and standard roses as they start growing but before any leaves unfurl. Roses will benefit from feeding with a granular rose fertiliser as they come into growth.
Summer or late-summer flowering deciduous shrubs can be pruned.Delay pruning spring-flowering shrubs until after they have flowered. Delay pruning more tender evergreen shrubs such as Choisya. Cut back late summer and autumn flowering Clematis. Cut out the top rosette of leaves from leggy stems of Mahonia x media cultivars to encourage branching.
Prune winter-flowering jasmine once the flowers have faded. Summer-flowering jasmines may also be pruned by cutting out selected braches to ground level.
Tie wall shrubs and climbers onto their supports to protect them from wind damage. Firm back newly planted trees and shrubs if they have been lifted by strong winds.
Mulch and feed with a general fertiliser shrubs, trees, hedges and climbers after pruning.

Lawns

Mow the grass if the weather is mild enough with the blades 0.5cm (0.25in) higher than the usual cutting height.
Newly turfed areas can be mown with the blades set to the highest setting.
Turf can be laid, provided the soil is not too wet or frozen. Sow lawn seed at end of month/beginning April.
Apply a high nitrogen spring/summer lawn fertiliser to encourage good, strong growth to help the lawn recover after the winter.