History repeats itself. Historians repeat each other - Philip Guedalla
After a warm, wet and dull February, March continued with the warmth and discarded the wet and dull bits. If this warmth continues, we may have another record-breaking hot year in Herefordshire. In the garden we await the unfurling of the leaves and continue to enjoy the Spring bulb season: daffodils and crocuses at the beginning of the month and tulips at the end. This month's photo (Photo 1) was taken on the 10th March when the daffodils and hyacinths were on show. We used to have a lot more daffodils but they don't seem to proliferate in the garden. Not quite sure why?
Photo 1: Back Garden on 10th March 2026
Another 'spot the wood pigeon' competition in Photo 2 ...
Photo 2: Where's Woody (March 2026)
... with all the daily garden photos for March collated in Video 1 ...
Video 1: Daily Photos of the Rear Garden (March 2026)
Table 1 summarises some key weather stats from our Davis Weather Station in the back garden. Only one frosty night where the temperature dipped just below 0 ℃, so hardly a frost at all. A couple of very warm sunny days on the 18th and 31st were almost summer-like. Apart from one stormy period when nearly an inch of rain fell on the 12th/13th of the month, there were lots of dry days; even when it did rain, it was only mildly inconvenient showers. Sunshine-wise, March was a huge improvement on February. Blustery conditions were experienced on the 24th of the month as stormy weather hit Northern England and we caught the edges. We would happily settle for March conditions like these.
Table 1: Summary Weather Statistics for March 2026
Daily minimum and maximum temperatures for March are reproduced in Figure 1. Click on the figure to see a larger version. Bearing in mind this is early Spring, daytime temperatures reached 10 ℃ or more on all but two days. Winter coats, gloves and hats could be safely left at home most days. And, because nighttime temperatures were generally mild, plant growth was rapid.
Figure 1: Daily Min/Max Temperatures (March 2026)
Daily rainfall and solar radiation values (a proxy for sunshine hours) are shown in Figure 2. The second half of March was much sunnier than the first and there was very little rain. Clearly, there were some dull days during the earlier part of the month but these were largely forgotten once the sunshine days of the second half arrived on the scene. The second half of March was also much drier and I irrigated the onion crop in the kitchen garden a couple of times. Some local farmers were also irrigating their crops during this dry period.
Figure 2: Daily Rainfall & Sunshine (March 2026)
I have collected seven years of weather data (2020 - 2026) for the month of March and these are presented in Figure 3 & Figure 4. Average temperatures have been remarkably constant with this year (2026) being just a tad bit warmer. Despite this consistency in the average monthly temperature, there is still an unpredictable variability in the minimum and maximum monthly temperature; note that the minimum temperature for 2026 does not show in Figure 1 because of its zero value. Frosts are still a feature on March so gardeners may want to delay planting out until April or be prepared with frost mitigation methods.
Figure 3: Time Series (2020 - 2026) of March Temperature Data (Hereford City)
March rainfall is unpredictable, varying by a factor of 10 or more between the driest and wettest months of March. Not unexpectedly, dry months are associated with sunny months. While the wind still blows in March (Figure 4), interestingly, there have been no named storms during March over the past 7 years.
Figure 4: Time Series (2020 - 2026) of Rain, Sun and Wind Data (Hereford City)
The next three figures are taken from the UK Met Office's Monthly Report for March 2026. UK mean temperatures (anomalies relative to the 1991 - 2020 period) are shown in Figure 5. Apart from the odd cold spot in Scotland, the rest of Britain saw a good deal of warmth. Herefordshire, including Hereford, experienced temperatures about 1 ℃ above the long-term average. The mean March temperature, based on historical weather data from the nearby Credenhill weather station, is 6.8 ℃. The observed mean temperature recorded by our weather station was 9 ℃; i.e. 2.2 ℃ above the long-term average. Taking into account rounding errors and the Urban Heat Island Effect for a city-based weather station, our temperature data are compatible with the Met Office's own data.
Figure 5: UK Mean Temperature Anomalies (March 2026)
Figure 6 (relative UK rainfall) shows below average rainfall in March for southern England, including Herefordshire. Quite the contrast with the above average rainfall in the previous month (February 2026). Again, based on historical data from Credenhill, we would expect about 50 mm of rain in March. The observed rainfall (39 mm, Table 1) was only 80% of the 'expected' total; in good agreement with the Met Office data (Figure 6).
Figure 6: Relative UK Rainfall (March 2026)
Relative sunshine hours for the UK are presented in Figure 7. Most of the UK, including Herefordshire, had slightly above 'typical' sunshine hours in March. I recorded approximately 120 sunshine hours in our Hereford back garden (Table 1) which is about 5% above the average for the English Midlands. March 2026 was only the third sunniest for our Hereford location (2020 - 2026).
Figure 7: Relative UK Sunshine Hours (March 2026)
Jobs in the Garden
Pruning back the clematis on the summerhouse. Shredding to produce about 500 L of woody waste. Might need to take this down to the Household Waste & Recycling Centre as home composting this much 'brown' garden waste will be difficult. Remind Mary to cut back in autumn when the wood is greener!
Seed potatoes and onion sets planted out.
Mulch asparagus and soft fruit beds with homemade unseived 'soil improver' (aka compost)
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