Spring in Britain arrives tentatively. One week the ground is still iron-hard, the skies grey and the garden seemingly frozen in winter suspension; the next, almost overnight, the soil begins to warm, the light acquires a new quality, and the garden stirs with an urgency that can feel almost panicked if you haven't prepared for it.
The British spring gardening season is, in many ways, the most important of the year. The decisions you make now — what to plant, what to prune, what to mulch, what to divide — will determine how your garden performs through summer and into autumn. Get it right and the rewards are substantial. Miss the windows and you spend the rest of the year making up lost ground.
Here, month by month, is what to focus on.
March: The Preparation Month
March in Britain is characterised by unpredictability. Frosts can arrive well into the month, particularly in the north and at altitude; in the South West and along south-facing coastal gardens, conditions can be genuinely spring-like by mid-month. The key is to respond to your soil rather than the calendar.
As soon as the soil is workable — not waterlogged, not frozen — begin incorporating compost or well-rotted manure into beds. This is the foundation of everything that follows. In a well-composted bed, plants establish faster, require less watering and are more resistant to pest and disease pressure.