March Flowers in the Garden

Here are some flowers that are out in March that you could grow in your garden.

It has been quite cold this year and so it has taken some time for the plants in the garden to get going. Now that we have had a bit of warmer weather and some sunshine the garden is looking amazing.

Many of the flowers mentioned last month were still very much in flower for most of March, but there are many additional plants now flowering.

We start with the daffodils and narcissi – these are in full bloom I grow a number of different varieties from the tiny dwarf varieties to the larger daffodils and narcissi. There are too many to mention by name, but some of the varieties I have are:

Jetfir, Jumblie, Yellow Cheerfulness, Sir Winston Churchill, Canaliculatus, Sailboat,Topolino, triandrus Thalia, Falconet, Martinette, Cheerfulness, and many more mixed varieties.

Next is the Primrose – this is a native plant to the UK Primulas vulgaris. It is a beautiful pale yellow flower which I much prefer to the gaudy cultivated ones. I transplant seedlings from around the garden to put the plants where I want them to be.

Now we have Forget-me-not – Myosotis. These are just coming into flower, but are no where near at their best. In a few weeks they will be a frothy mass of beautiful tiny blue flowers.

Then we have the Sweet Violet – Viola odorata – with lovely sweet smelling flowers and a native plant to the UK. Mine have been kindly donated to me by a friend who gave me the plant in this pot together with the violets that has self-seeded themselves there! A good way of acquiring plants!

Followed closely by Dog Violet – Viola riviniana with their charming violet/blue flowers. This is yet another native plant to the UK and it self-seeds itself everywhere! I encourage this plant to grow between the cracks in my patio paving so I have a lovely flowering patio in the spring and I also allow it to grow underneath my roses as ground cover. In the spring, the flowers attract predatory insects for any greenfly that might be thinking of taking up residence on the roses!

Rosemary  - Salvia rosmarinus flowers at this time of year and it can look very attractive with it’s blue flowers. These are loved by early flying bees and other insects.

Just coming into flower is the Elephant’s Ears – Bergenia cordifolia – a great plant for a shady corner or one with dappled sunlight.

Pulmonarias or Lungworts are in full flower now. There are many varieties and the one I love the best is Pulmonaria ‘Blue Ensign’ with striking blue-violet flowers. I also grow a variety called Mrs Moon.

In the rock garden, the Mossy Saxifrages – Saxifraga are blooming – I have a red and white variety. These are great rock garden plants forming mounds of foliage covered with flowers in the spring. They are great for growing on a wall too.

Now we have some of the most spectacular spring flowers – the Pasque Flower – Pulsatilla vulgaris, and is yet another native but now very rare plant in the UK. I have a beautiful red one, a gorgeous white and a purple one. They are quite easy to grow and will self-seed as well.

Also in the rock garden are the Aubretias just coming into flower. These come in many different colours from white, red and purple. They are perfect for growing over a dry stone wall and over rocks in the rock garden. 

A plant with similar flowers to the snowdrop is also in flower now – this is the Snowflake – Leucojum aestivum. It is much larger than the snowdrop and will increase happily if left undisturbed.

The Siberian bugloss is also flowering – Brunnera macrophylla. These prefer a more shady position. I grow mine in a border that is in full sun, but it is shaded by bigger plants in the summer so is sheltered from the hot sun. The flowers are very similar to the Forget-me-not and there are several different cultivars. The one I grow is ‘Mr Morse’ which has silvery heart-shaped leaves and tiny white flowers.

Cowslips grow everywhere in my garden – they are in the lawn and they look just lovely when in full flower. I make sure that I mow round them! It is another native plant to the UK!

The first flowers on the alpine strawberries – Fragaria vesca are appearing. I am looking forward to picking these in a few weeks. The variety I grow has white fruits. This is another plant that self-seeds itself round the garden!

Another bulb that is flowering now is the Grape Hyacinth – Muscari. These increase rapidly soon taking over, but they look lovely and when they have died back you would ever know that they are there. I haven’t planted any in my garden, but I have found one growing this year! I have no idea where it has come from, but in a few years I am sure that I will have masses of them just from this one plant! This is a great plant for providing bees with nectar.

A shrub which flowers in March is the Flowering Currant – Ribes sanguineum. It is often grown as a hedging plant. It is a deciduous shrub (losing it’s leaves in winter) and the flowers appear before the leaves. The flowers are red are highly scented and are loved by bees providing a very important food source for them. The shrubs can grow quite big (2m x 1.5m), but they do not mind being trimmed.

Another shrub in flower in March is the Japanese Skimmia – Skimmia japonica. This is a shrub well known for it’s very fragrant flowers and is well worth growing by your front door so that you can enjoy the delicious scent.

An interesting plant for March is the Spring Pea – Lathyrus vernus. This is a small clump forming plant with purple flowers.

The early flowering geraniums are just coming into flower. I have Geraniun sanguineum ‘Pink Pouffe’. As the name implies, this forms a low growing mound which will eventually be covered in pale pink flowers.

The spring flowering Veronica umbrosa ‘Georgia Blue’ is also just coming into flower. This will eventually be covered in the intense blue flowers which contrast nicely with the bronze tinted foliage.

There are many, many other plants flowering in March, including cherry trees, blackthorn, wildflowers such as daisys and dandelions, magnolias and the Japanese kerria. March is a wonderful time of year in the garden.