The arrival of March means only one thing for sure—you’ll see pretty daffodils dancing in fields and gracing garden borders. I’m not partial to any particular variety of daffodil. They all bring cheer to the garden after a long winter. They are indeed a welcoming sign of spring.

The hellebores are up and running, too, anxiously awaiting their turn to be harvested for tucking into fresh floral arrangements. By the middle of March, we flower farmers have just enough to work with until warmer temps arrive in April.

TIP: Be very careful about when and how you harvest hellebores. Here at the farm, I like to delay harvesting until our hellebores start forming seed heads. By delaying harvest, your hellebores will last longer in bouquets. If you must harvest earlier, follow these instructions:

Carry a sharp knife and a pail of water into the garden with you.
After harvesting, and starting from the bottom of each stem, use your knife to cut a vertical, 1-inch slit up the middle of each stem. The vertical slits will help ensure that your hellebores stay hydrated and conditioned. This is especially important because hellebores are known for drooping if not harvested correctly.
Immediately place the stems in a pail of water.

Whether you’re a gardener at heart or a flower farmer by trade, March is a very important month. Over the winter, you sketched out your gardening plans and timetable. Now it’s time to implement those plans and keep as close to your timetable as weather conditions permit.

Right now, we’re planting sweet peas about the trellis, hardening off our seed-grown perennials and gathering our seed potatoes for planting. The ideal date for planting seed potatoes is March 17, but if that’s not possible, rest assured your potatoes will grow just the same even if planted later.

Remember, March can be a hard time to garden. The longer days will fool you into thinking that spring really has arrived. Enjoy the spring blooms of March but be cautious. Even though the ground is warming up and some days feel like May, there’s still the chance of planting too early.

May your garden grow with all the goodness of March.

Pamela Anthony
Beehind Thyme Farm & Garden