Seasonal Changes in the Garden - March 2021

The winter months of January and February have passed and the onset of Spring brings fresh growth and colour to the garden.

The trees were still bare on March 3rd (below) but fresh green leaves are appearing, the Christmas Rose (hellebore) is still in full bloom and the early daffodils and primulas are flowering. There is a hint of pink in the wild cherry with the promise of more to come. In the left foreground, some components of the new summerhouse are laid out ready for treatment with eco preservative; LifeTime Wood Treatment from The Natural Gardener.

The Shire Hampton Summerhouse is intended as an all-year-round replacement for our summer-only pop-up gazebo. Ordered 22/2/21, delivered 1/3/21 and finished 7/3/21. We have added rugs, table, chairs, storage and plants to the summerhouse and enjoy sitting in there most days, rain or shine (photo below from March 12th).

 

The garden did not look much different on March 11th, apart from a few more flowering daffodils, and I still need to tidy up the patio. Mary puts the finishing touches to the summerhouse and records it for posterity.

It is now the end of March (31st), and it is beginning to look like Spring. The wild cherry is blooming marvellous (as is our neighbour's tree) and the daffodils, primulas and tulips add much-needed colour. The patio is also looking a bit tidier!

There are some hidden gems not visible in the overview photos. For example, in the secret garden (behind the green shed so no longer secret!), there was a fine display of daffodils on the 19th March:

And this snake's head fritillary near the patio:

 Weather data are from my Davis Vantage Pro 2 Plus weather station. Sunshine hours are estimated using monthly total solar radiation values.

Here is the March 2021 weather summary for a Hereford (UK) town garden. Equivalent weather values for March 2020 (last year) are in red for comparison.

March 2021 (2020)
Weather Parameter	Value	Dates
Average Monthly Temperature	8 oC (8 oC)
Maximum Monthly Temperature	24 oC (19 oC)	24th
Minimum Monthly Temperature	- 4 oC (-2 oC)	6th, 26th
Number of Air Frost Days	2 (3)	6th, 23rd, 26th
Number of Hot Days (> 25 oC)	0 (0)
Monthly Precipitation	25.2 mm (37 mm)
Greatest 24 h Precipitation	9.0 mm (9.0 mm)	9th - 10th
Number of Dry Days	21 (20)
Monthly Sunshine Hours (estimated)	116 (125)
Average Wind Speed	4 km/h (5 km/h)
Highest Wind Speed	53 km/h (50 km/h)	11th
Maximum Barometric Pressure (Sea Level)	1036.3 hPa (1042.6 hPa)	6th
Minimum Barometric Pressure (Sea Level)	984.4 hPa (983.7 hPa)	11th
Average Barometric Pressure (Sea Level)	1021.6 hPa (1016.6 hPa)

  

Weatherwise, this month (March, 2021) was similar to last March (2020) although it felt colder and windier.