Alan's Bio:
Alan, a 3rd generation Nurseryman has been working on the family nursery for 24 years. His experience in gardening includes, designing award winning RHS displays, maintaining gardens, big and small and growing plants commercially for garden centres and the gardeners alike.
Alan's top plants to buy in March 2025
March is the perfect time to get those green fingers moving! As we say goodbye to the worst of the winter weather, our thoughts turn to summer flowers, tasty vegetables and cascading hanging baskets. This is my list of top plants to buy in March 2025. The list is packed full of old favourites, as well as some plants you may not have heard of, but all of them are ideal for growing in the UK and will bring colour, interest or taste to your garden this year.
Dahlia Tubers
Here at Newland Nursery we are crazy about Dahlias! They are such a versatile flower with a huge range of colours, shapes and sizes. Whether you are dreaming about pom-pom flowers in your borders or large dinner-plate blooms in your vases, there is a dahlia for you.
Why plant in March?
Planting early in the season gives you a head start. I would recommend starting your plants indoors in early spring in pots. The tubers can be planted outside as the weather improves.
Trailing geraniums
March is the time when we start dreaming about sunny days to come, and if that dream involves cascades of flowers spilling over the side of your hanging baskets, then trailing geraniums are a must-have.
Get your orders in for your favourite colours in March and look forward to a touch of Mediterranean charm for your garden and patio. If you have not grown trailing geraniums before, you are in for a treat! They are very low maintenance for a summer bedding plant and very tolerant of different conditions.
For such a strong-growing plant, they are surprisingly drought tolerant and, along with all of that, they are available in an array of stunning colours.
Cleomes
If you are a fan of architectural flair, adding some cleome to your garden is a must. You may not have heard of this plant before, but trust me, it is about to become a favourite.
Here at Newlands Nursery we are always on the lookout for plants that add something a little bit special and cleomes definitely fit the bill. These tall flowering plants produce spider-like flowers through the summer months and are well suited to growing in borders as well as large containers.
Top tip: cleomes thrive in well-drained soil in a sunny spot. Once they have established themselves, they are fairly low maintenance and will wow you with their flowers every time you walk past.
Tomato plants
March is the month when we start dreaming of home-grown goodness, and there is no vegetable (in my opinion) that tastes quite as good as home-grown tomatoes.
Newlands Nursery has been growing tomatoes for decades; in fact, it is one of the first plants ever grown here some 70 years ago. But even though we have done it for so long, we still can't get over how much better home-grown tomatoes are compared to shop-bought equivalents.
March is the perfect time to pre-order tomato plug plants to make sure you secure your favourite varieties, and we have some stunning ones for you. Whether you love sweet cherry tomatoes or tasty black tomatoes (they taste amazing!), we have a tomato for you.
Heuchera
March is the ideal time to plant heuchera. These hardy perennial plants will bring year-round colour to your borders or pots. We have long been fans of heuchera.
Sometimes known as coral bells, they are prized for their striking foliage which comes in a kaleidoscope of colours, ranging from deep purple (almost black) to zesty lime greens.
In our opinion, there is always a place in a garden for heuchera. Buying these plants in March will allow you to enjoy the full spectrum of interest these plants bring to your garden.
Climbing geraniums
I have long been an advocate for these wonderful antique geraniums. These are some of the best container plants you can buy in the UK. The vigorous nature of these geraniums can help them grow to as much as a metre in height. Come late spring, you are treated to clusters of bright flowers which will continue all the way into the autumn.
March is the perfect time to buy these plants. The earlier you get them planted, the sooner you will see flowers and the better your display will be. When planting in March, make sure you protect these plants from frosts, but as soon as this risk has gone, place your plants outside and enjoy the show.
Bacopa
This is a true hanging basket staple, but this is a staple for a good reason. Bacopa is one of the easiest and best-performing hanging basket plants that money can buy. And what you may not know is bacopa has got even better.
At Newlands Nursery we now only grow Giga Bacopa; these are faster growing, easier to look after and have flowers almost twice the size. So if you are looking for a plant to tumble over the side of a hanging basket or container, do not overlook this favourite.
Mint
Mint is a must-have herb for every garden, and March is the ideal time to plant it. Here at Newlands Nursery we have been passionate about growing herbs for over 30 years, and a herb garden would not be complete without mint. It is truly the most versatile herb around, whether you are making summer drinks, adding it to salad or chopping it up to add to your potatoes.
It is always good to have a mint plant on hand. And what you may not know is that not all mints are made alike. We have a huge selection of different mint plants ranging from zesty lime mint to wonderfully deep-flavoured Moroccan mint. There really is a mint for every taste.