Kitchen Garden – March 2026 – Kitchen Garden

www.greenhousesensation.co.uk Greenhouse Sensation, 93 Vantage Point, The Pensnet Estate, Kingswinford, West Mids, DY6 7FR www.greenhousesensation.co.uk Please visit our website for the highest quality, practical garden products made in our UK factory. The range includes the Vitopod heated propagator & Quadgrow self-watering planter. Scan this, and we’ll tell you! (*Not available in NI or EU) YOUR FREE seeds Mar 26 kitchengarden.co.uk March 2026 | 39 Lovage is powerful – a small amount goes a long way. It is particularly good in: ■vegetable, chicken and beef stocks ■soups and broths ■lentil and bean dishes ■slow-cooked stews and casseroles ■potatoes and root vegetables T e hollow stems can also be used as aromatic stirrers for Bloody Marys and other savoury drinks.

Lovage freezes very well. Chop the leaves and freeze in small portions, or in ice-cube trays with water or stock. Drying is possible, but the fl avour is noticeably weaker than frozen. Slugs and snails can damage young growth, tall stems may need shelter from strong winds, and yellowing leaves usually point to dry or nutrient-poor soil. Divide congested clumps every few years to keep plants vigorous. ■ ig, bold and quietly brilliant, lovage is one of those old- fashioned kitchen garden plants that earns its keep year after year.

With its tall, architectural habit and intensely savoury fl avour, it brings a deep, celery-like richness to soups, stocks and slow-cooked dishes – but with far more depth than celery leaf. Once established, this long-lived perennial is dependable and generous, producing fresh growth from early spring and sending up tall stems topped with soft yellow umbels in early summer.

It works just as well in a productive plot as it does tucked into a mixed border, where its height and structure add interest as well as harvests. Lovage thrives in moisture-retentive soil enriched with plenty of organic matter. Before planting, dig in well-rotted compost or garden compost, especially on lighter soils. A neutral to slightly alkaline soil suits it well.

I’ve been putting off pruning my apple and pear trees all winter. Work deadlines, Christmas, weeks of rain – the usual excuses… but with time running out, and a welcome break in the weather, I nipped out to get on with it before I missed the boat – again. I put the orchard in 18 years ago and I’m afraid the trees have been pretty much left to their own devices ever since – I’m sure some of you can relate.

In the summer, I noticed one of the Victoria plums had silver leaf and, as I passed it today, I got briefl y sidetracked into having a closer look. It’s been badly affected and I fear it may have to come out – a shame, as the chickens spend their summers in the orchard and are particularly fond of a windfall plum or two. It was so nice to be outside again, and I was only brought in by the onset of dusk – although my daughter helpfully suggested a head torch!

My offi ce was also the setting for one of our grow light tests this month, and I hadn’t realised quite how much I’d missed the smell of growing seedlings until I walked back in, cold and muddy, and caught it properly for the fi rst time. That soft, green, slightly earthy scent felt like a promise – a small, indoor preview of everything that’s about to begin again outside. It’s made me genuinely excited for the arrival of spring, even though I know better than to get carried away.

I’m not counting my (plum-thief) chickens just yet – we could easily be plunged back into a run of very cold weather, and March has a habit of keeping us on our toes. But that’s part of the pleasure of gardening for me. It constantly asks you to slow down, to watch, to wait – and to accept that progress isn’t always neat or predictable. Being patient isn’t very ‘me’, honestly.

I like plans, lists and momentum. Growing has taught me something different. You can prepare, you can test, you can prune and tidy and make the best decisions you can – but in the end, so much of it comes down to timing and trust. Sometimes that means stepping back, and sometimes it means picking up the secateurs and getting started – even when you’re not quite sure how it will turn out.

Either way, spring always fi nds its own moment to arrive.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

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