LANDSCAPING : A fine spring morning calls for a closer look at your ornamental beds — the ascending Waning Crescent moon, combined with a flower day, makes this a well-suited window for planting and dividing flowering perennials / Set out young wallflower (‘Bowles’s Mauve’, ‘Blood Red’) and sweet William (‘Auricula-eyed Mixed’, ‘Electron’) plants 25–30 cm apart in well-loosened soil; firm in gently around the roots and water with a rose head to settle them without compacting the surface / Divide established clumps of aster, scabiosa, and gaillardia now — lift with a fork, split into sections of 3–5 shoots, and replant at the same depth, spacing divisions 40 cm apart to give each one room to establish / Sow cosmos (‘Purity’, ‘Sensation Mixed’) and nigella (‘Miss Jekyll’, ‘Persian Jewels’) directly into prepared borders at 0.5 cm depth; thin to 20–30 cm once seedlings are established — direct sowing now avoids transplant shock and encourages stronger root anchoring / In Mediterranean climates or sheltered southern gardens, this is a good moment to plant out pot-grown lavender (‘Hidcote’, ‘Vera’) and echinacea (‘Magnus’, ‘White Swan’) at 45 cm spacing; both thrive when settled in before warmer spells arrive
VEGETABLE PATCH : Under glass, sow sweet pea (‘Cupani’, ‘Matucana’, ‘Spencer Mixed’) two seeds per 9 cm pot at 2 cm depth in a cool greenhouse or cold frame — their fragrant blooms will follow the season’s rhythm and reward early sowing with longer stems / Outdoors, direct-sow pot marigold (Calendula ‘Indian Prince’, ‘Art Shades’) in short rows at 1 cm depth and 30 cm apart alongside your vegetable beds; they attract beneficial insects and help deter aphids from neighbouring crops — a practical companion as much as a pretty one / Sow sweet alyssum and phacelia in bare patches between brassica rows to draw in pollinators; scatter thinly and rake in lightly at 0.5 cm depth
INDOORS : Notice how the light is already stronger through the window — a sign that indoor seedlings need checking daily for signs of stretching / Pot on begonia (‘Non-Stop’, ‘Illumination’) and fuchsia cuttings that have rooted since February into 10 cm pots with a peat-free multi-purpose compost; move to the brightest spot available to keep growth compact / Pinch out the growing tips of young pelargonium (‘Ringo Scarlet’, ‘Maverick Star’) plants to encourage bushy, well-branched specimens before hardening off next month