March Jobs in the Garden: Begin the Beguine

Now that winter is on the way out and March is in, albeit like a lion, it is no longer too early to get started with late winter/early spring jobs.  In fact, there's crocus about flowering already and the snowdrops surely are, so better clear away leaf litter that may be matting them down or otherwise depriving them their two weeks of humble glory.  Whether you like to do it yourself or you have "the gardeners" do it, here is what we do, as professional horticulturists, in the first days and weeks of March, with an emphasis here on common mistakes and also what should be done ASAP.  Remember, if you have bulbs--and no garden shouldn't--be careful where you step, because these are the days when they are pushing and yet barely visible.  You can easily crush the invisible eyes of hostas and peonies too, so don't let mow & blow guys go clunking around heedlessly in your beds.

We are focused on cutting down grasses and perennials that were left through the winter, with priority given to those that are early to show new life.  We don't want to nick soft buddage, so we tidy up before there is any.  Next week I will focus on woody plants that require late winter pruning:  Hydrangeas and butterfly bush, spiraeas and purple smokebush.

• Ornamental grasses (Fountain grass, Miscanthus, Feather Reed grass, Ravenna grass, Hakanechloa, Northern Sea Oats, Switch grass):  cut them to the ground, all the way to the ground.  Landscapers often cut down grasses during their fall clean-ups, but the textures and movement of their flowers and tawny leaves adds interest and seeds to the winter garden, so I leave them until the first days of March, by which time admittedly they can look--and be--messy.  If you have gas or electric hedge trimmer use it to blast right through the tough clumps of Miscanthus and Ravenna grass.  If not, use sharpened secateurs (and leather gloves).  I dislike seeing Miscanthus cut down to heights of a foot or more--they can be and should be cut lower, for the sake of appearance.  The other grasses can easily be cut with secateurs.  We like to have 15gal tubs at our sides, gripping the clump with one hand, cutting with the other, and placing the debris into the tub directly, rather than making a big mess and raking it up when all done.

• Hellebores (Helleborus x orientalis and H. niger):  cut last year's (evergreen) leaves to the ground, but be careful not to cut or nick the flowers, which are already visible and pushing and will open in a week or two.  If you have the stinking hellebore (H. foetidus, which seeds itself around), leave it alone until it is finished flowering, then cut the woody stems to the ground.

• Lily-turf (Liriope--pronounced "li-rye-o-pee"):  This is a useful, tough groundcover for sun and shade that is commonly mass-planted in municipal installations and by landscapers.  It is evergreen but it always looks ratty by now and it is a very common mistake not to cut it to the ground--all the way to the ground!--at the end of winter.  We've never tried the power line-trimmer, I suppose you could, but it is important to cut down lily-turf before the new leaves begin to emerge, else they may bear the evidence of a whack-job all season.

• Epimedium, great and easy trouble-free groundcovers for shade.  Not commonly known and grown, we shear large patches of barrenwort with hedge clippers or secateurs early enough in March so that we don't harm the daintiest of flowers that push up before the leaves do.

• Ferns:  Evergreen ferns, most commonly Autumn fern (Dryopteris erythrosora) and Christmas fern.  They are beaten down by now by snows so, even though evergreen, remove last years leaves to allow beautiful new croziers to unfurl free of tattered clutter.

Hopefully there is work for you to do in your garden, hopefully you do have grasses to cut down and daffodills to avoid stepping on--because consorting with them on agreeable March days does rejuvenate the soul--a little bit.