EASY
Send for mail order seed catalogues: Unwins (01945 588522), Mr Fothergill’s (01638 552512), Suttons (0870 220 0606) and Thompson & Morgan (01473 688821).
Bring forced bulbs into warm rooms when the buds are first showing and place in a well-lit spot. Turn bulbs on windowsills daily to prevent them leaning towards the light.
Hang bird feeders in among your rose bushes and they will repay you later by devouring pests such as greenfly on your plants.
Check containers regularly for moisture.
EFFORT
Plant fruit trees and soft fruit bushes, such as currants and raspberries, when the soil is neither frozen nor completely sodden.
Take hardwood cuttings of shrubs such as dogwood, forsythia and flowering currant.
Drain small water features such as wall fountains of water to prevent them from freezing during severe weather.
Gather together the leaves of cordylines and tie them loosely with raffia to prevent water freezing in the crown.
TOUGH
Remove large lower branches on deciduous trees to create a bare trunk and a well-shaped head.
Rake up any remaining leaves from lawns and flower beds, otherwise they may harbour pests and diseases, which will cause smothered plants to rot.
Protect vulnerable plants from severe frost with fleece or netting and erect screens around new plantings to protect them from the wind.
DIY IT
Cut down on greenhouse heating bills by making a heated propagator. Get a box about 6in deep, line with 2ins of sand, loop an electric warming cable on top, cover with another 2ins of sand and attach a rod thermostat to control temperature. Equipment from Two Wests & Elliott (0870 444 8274, www.twowests.co.uk).
GOOD IDEA
Once the crop is over, dry the hard woody stems of jersey kale and use them as walking sticks.
– Ted Harrison, Colchester, Essex
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