March in the Garden: Blossom Season Begins in Edinburgh

As March unfolds in Edinburgh, our garden at the Secret Garden Distillery, at the foot of the Pentland Hills, begins its quiet but powerful transformation. After the dormant winter months, life is returning to our Garden, slowly at first, but with growing energy each day.

It is inside the glasshouse that we see the change first.

Glasshouse in Bloom: The First Signs of Spring

Image: Apricot and peach blossom in the glasshouse at Secret Garden Distillery

The apricot, peach and pear trees are flowering in the glasshouse, while the apple and pear trees outside are not far behind. The buds are swelling visibly each day, marking the true beginning of spring in our garden. It’s wonderful to see colour returning after the long winter with the delicate blossoms bringing warmth and vitality back into the space.

This moment signals more than just a visual change. It also marks the beginning of our harvesting season.

The first botanicals on our list are these delicate fruit tree blossoms, carefully gathered for our summer gin. Their light, floral character brings a fresh, aromatic brightness that captures the essence of our garden. Our Distiller has been busy using these harvested blossoms already with the first batch of our Summer Gin ready to hit the shelves. If you would like to know more about how he distills this award-winning London Dry gin see our blog here.

🌱 Early Botanicals Emerging

Image: Flowering lungwort is an early food for our pollinators

Beyond the blossom, other early-season botanicals are beginning to emerge. Flowering lungwort adds rich colour and texture, while the first signs of life appear across the beds.

We don't harvest the lungwort but its bright colour attracts our bees and is early food for them in the season. WIth sunny days they are starting to venture out beyond the hives and early sources of food for them are essential for their health. On World Bees Day last year we wrote about the importance of our pollinators to our garden and our sustainable approach to the garden which forms such an important part of our gin. Read that blog here.

Next in our harvesting calendar will be sweet woodruff, nettles, and yarrow: each chosen for the unique depth and balance they bring to our distillations. These plants help us build layers of flavour that reflect the garden’s natural progression through the season.

🌳 Caring for Our Glasshouse Fig Trees

The fig trees in the glasshouse have recently had their annual prune. Because they are grown under glass, we carefully manage their size to ensure they don’t outgrow the space or risk damaging the structure.

This involves removing some of the older, taller branches to make room for newer, more productive growth. The desired branches are shorter and already showing signs of pea-sized figs, an early promise of the fruit that will mature later in the summer.

This balance between control and encouragement is key to maintaining a healthy, productive glasshouse environment.

Image: Pruned fig trees in our Edinburgh Glasshouse coming to life 

🌿 Preparing the Garden for the Season Ahead

At the start of the growing season, it’s important to set the plants up for success. At the Secret Garden, we do this by adding organic matter to the soil, ensuring that plants have plenty of nutrients to grow strong throughout the summer months.

Healthy soil is the foundation of everything we create providing essential support both the plants themselves and the flavours they eventually bring to our gins.

🌾 Early Spring Garden Care: Managing Weeds

A challenge we face head-on in March is staying on top of weeds before they become established. Docks and creeping thistles, in particular, can take hold quickly if left unchecked.

They are far easier to remove when young, and early weeding allows our botanicals the space, light, and nutrients they need to thrive without competition. This careful attention now makes all the difference later in the season.

A Season of Anticipation

March is a time of renewal, preparation, and anticipation at the Secret Garden Distillery. From blossom-filled glasshouses to the first harvests of the year, every moment in the garden shapes the spirits we create.

As spring continues to unfold in Edinburgh, we look forward to sharing more of our garden’s journey, bringing its seasonal character to life in every bottle. And our Garden remains open although check our socials for our up-to-date opening hours each week. The Garden features in our Discovery Tour where visitors can not only taste our gins but tour the garden and see how we create our seed-to-sip sustainably crafted gins.

FAQs

What botanicals are harvested in spring in Scotland?

Early spring botanicals at the Secret Garden include blossom, sweet woodruff, nettles and yarrow, each bringing fresh and floral notes to both our core and seasonal gins.

What happens in a distillery garden in March?

March is the start of the growing and harvesting season, with blossom appearing, soil preparation underway, and early botanicals emerging. If they are not harvested they provide welcome nourishment for those brave, hardy pollinators venturing our of their hives.