• Order seeds now to be sown in this month or next as you may have to wait some weeks for delivery.
  • Continue to protect vulnerable plants from frost and wind damage.
  • Firm in any autumn-planted shrubs and border plants lifted by frost.
  • Plant lilies in patio pots, keeping them in the greenhouse to develop.
  • Use cloches to protect alpines from damage by winter cold and rain.
  • Avoid walking on lawns or pruning fruit trees if covered by frost.
  • Continue to plant fruit trees and bushes, choosing diseaseresistant varieties where possible.
  • Check greenhouse heaters are in good working order.
  • Take cuttings from conifers.
  • Start keeping a gardening diary and record book and update it each week.
  • Dig up chicory roots, pot up and cover to force chicons to develop.
  • Enrich soil with compost where beans are to be grown.