• If you haven’t finished planning your garden for the upcoming season, don’t wait any longer!  Having a plan will help you know what seeds to buy.  If you wait to get your seeds until it warms up, you may not get the varieties you want.  You won’t necessarily stick to your plan precisely – I always leave room for something I find that I just can’t live without, and I’m often moving things around when it comes to actual planting time, but a​ plan gives me a place to start.

• March is the time to get a lot of seeds started, if you are growing your own.  Early in the month, I get my parsley started.  I typically start broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, head lettuces, and kale mid-month.  Mid-month is also the time to start all herbs other than rosemary and parsley, which got started last month.  At the end of the month, it's time to get tomatoes and peppers going.

• If you are starting flowers from seed, early to mid March is the time to start zinnia, and mid to late March is the time to get a number of others going, including amaranth, catmint, cleome, gaillardia, nigella, stock and thunbergia.  Echinacea should be started by the end of the month.

• While you’re waiting for the snow to melt, it's a great time to repot any of your indoor plants that have outgrown their current pots.  When repotting, it is generally best to go up in pot size by no more than an inch or two in diameter and depth.  Consider dividing larger plants into a few smaller ones so that you don’t end up with a huge plant in a really heavy pot.  If you don’t have room for all the new small plants, you could give some away.  They make great gifts that can brighten anyone’s day!

• Start fertilizing your indoor plants again in March, too.

• You may not have been able to get to some of the things on last month's list because it was too cold or you couldn't get through all the snow.  So, if you couldn't or didn't get around to some of the sprayings suggested last month, you should be able to at some point this month.​​

• The temperatures we’re having also make for good pruning weather.  It’s best to get most of your pruning done before it really starts to warm up, but it doesn’t seem like we’re in any danger of that just yet!

• Ornamental grasses that were left up for winter interest should be cut back this month – though not until the snow they are buried under melts!  Cut them to about 4 to 6 inches above the ground to give new growth room and sunlight.

• If it warms up to near-normal temperatures by the end of the month, you can possibly consider planting out some things.  I know that seems impossible to believe right now, but it might happen!  Things that can take some cool temperatures and usually can get planted out in early spring are pansies, ranunculus, and primrose in the flower garden, and peas in the veggie garden.  However, don’t be in too much of a hurry.  If the soil is too wet, wait a little longer to plant.  Wet soil compacts too easily, and that’s not good for your plants.

• This weather is not for the birds!  They are enjoying it even less than we are, because they don't have central heating in their roosts.  So, continue feeding them if you are able.  They will show their appreciation by putting on a colorful show for you - the reds of cardinals and blues of jays show up quite beautifully against white!

• Another thing to do for birds this month is clean out their houses.  They are already starting to think about looking around for good nesting sites, and they like a nice tidy house, just like we do.  Actually, many birds aren't likely to use a nesting box that has someone else's leftover nest in it.

Happy Gardening!