March Gardening Guide
South Africa continues to treat us with warm and blissful days, but as we near the harvest season and autumn takes hold, the days grow shorter, and the nights bring a touch of chill. The magic of seasonal transition is a joyful reminder that it’s nearly time to plant your winter and spring bulbs.
Say hello to your March Gardening Guide, bursting with bulbs and a dash of gardening brilliance.
Year Round Beauty with Indigenous Bulbs
Why not start with indigenous bulbs? These stunning plants can be sown almost year-round, making them a perfect choice to fill your garden with vibrant, proudly South African blooms. Let your space shine with local charm! Kick off your March Gardening with these beauties.
Bulbine abyssinica
Crinum moorei
Crocosmia aurea
Crocosmia paniculatum
Cyrtanthus breviflorus
Cyrtanthus falcatus
Cyrtanthus mackenii
Dierama latifolium
Dierama pallidum
Haemanthus albiflos
Haemanthus deformis
Hypoxis acuminata
Hypoxis colchifolia
Scadoxus
Channel Exuberance with Exotic Flowers
Local flowers are great—we’ll shout it from the rooftops—but let’s be honest, exotic blooms bring a little extra pizzazz to the party. They’re like the glamorous guest who shows up with a bottle of bubbly and a story about backpacking through Europe. Plus, they’re not just pretty faces! Exotic flowers charm pollinators and add a delightful touch of variety to your garden, making it a true melting pot of floral fabulousness.
Here are some exciting exotics ready to be planted now
Bearded irises
Canna
Day lilies (Hemerocallis)
Louisiana irises
Amaryllis (Hippeastrum)
Show You Care with Chaos Gardening
Embrace the beautiful chaos of a garden in transition—it’s nature’s way of saying, “Relax, I’ve got this.” Instead of trying to keep everything neat and tidy, swap control for care. Those fallen leaves you’re tempted to rake up? They’re a five-star hotel for all the tiny critters that call your garden home. From sheltering insects to providing food for decomposers, those leaves are doing more for your garden than you might think. So, let them be. Your garden’s wildlife will thank you, and you’ll have one less chore to do. Win-win!
Preorder Winter Bulbs
It's not March Gardening without getting your hands on some winter bulbs. While it might not be prime time for planting them just yet, it’s the perfect moment to preorder the ones you’ve been daydreaming about for your garden. Trust us, you don’t want to be left bulb-less while everyone else is basking in blooming glory.
Right now, some of these bulbs are at the tail end of their dormancy snooze—think of it as their pre-spring beauty sleep. But soon enough, the chilly air will work its magic, nudging them awake and kickstarting their growth cycle. It’s basically bulb alarm clock season.
When your sleepy little blooms-to-be arrive and the soil has finally cooled down (patience is a virtue!), grab your gardening gloves and plant them into rich, well-fed soil. Jumping the gun and planting while it’s still warm will just leave your bulbs twiddling their metaphorical thumbs, waiting for the roots to decide it’s safe to grow.
To keep things cool and cosy, mulch with compost and pick a spot where your bulbs can bask in the morning sun but chill out in the afternoon shade. They’ll thrive, and you’ll look like a gardening genius.
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