September: cool it!

The past months of drought has been quite devastating for a number of gardens, so I have included a section on plants that I have seen to do well this year.

I have listed the usual tasks for September below: the truth is, the weather is probably not cool enough and the ground not wet enough yet to merit undertaking many of them. Wait until the end of the month would be my advice.

As autumn is the best time of year for planting because the soil is still warm and the rains have usually come, it is worth reflecting on what the new reality of hot summers and wet winters means to us.

I have certainly had to have a rethink of planting plans I put together in the spring. With another wet winter likely to be on its way, followed by extreme and prolonged drought, you don’t have to look far to see what is happening to our plants.

The best way to work out what is best for your garden is to look around and see what has perished and what has survived. For example, around where I live we have dense, silty/clayey, poorly drained soil over a well-drained, quite deep subsoil. The pH is slightly acidic.

Different soils have different requirements. Please….know your soil, it’s pH and it’s capacity for drainage before heading off to the garden centre!!!

The following have survived much better in full sun than I thought they would:

TREES

Amelanchier

Crataegus

Prunus 

Pyrus

Olea

SHRUBS

Abelia

Deutzia

Lavendula

Perovskia

Potentilla

Pinus Mugo

Rosemarinus (esp. ‘Prostratus’)

Pittisporum 'Golf Ball'

GRASSES

Calamagrostis

Miscanthus

Seslaria ' Summer Skies' / 'Autumnalis'

HERBACEOUS

Baptisia australis

Bergenia

Calamintha nepeta sp nepeta

Euphobia 'Humpty Dumpty'

Geranium Mavis Simpson (semi-shade best)

Nepeta 

Oreganum 'Kent Beauty'

Sedum

Symphytum

Verbena 'Lollipop'

Remember: Establishing plants with the help of irrigation in the first few years may be needed. Using the smaller varieties of the below helps too due to smaller leaf surface area from which to loose moisture.

So, tasks to do when the weather turns cooler and the moisture levels rise are:

• Plan, buy and plant spring flowering bulbs such as daffodil, crocus and iris over the next couple of months. Leave the Tulips until November – unless we get another drought or Indian summer. In which case, delay them all by several weeks! 

• Mow your wildflower areas and be sure to rake up all the cuttings: this will help reduce the nitrogen level and so encourage flowering rather than green growth.

• Beech and hornbeam can be given a light trim to keep them neat throughout the winter. As semi-evergreens they provide useful screening

• Deadheading will still produce results, especially with Dahlias that can look good until the first frosts.

• Be selective when cutting back your herbaceous plants: many of them will provide seeds for wildlife as well as being attractive in the winter frosts and sunlight

• Raking out the thatch from your lawn (scarifying) and using a fork or an aerator to spike your lawn will improve drainage and the quality of your lawn. Where there are bare patches, sowing seed over spread topsoil when the weather gets cooler and feeding the lawn in spring will give a fresh, green appearance.

• Divide herbaceous perennials that have become too big for their spot: it is remarkable how many plants can be teased out of one large clump. Be generous and give some of it away: you are very likely to have the compliment returned.

• If you have a pond near a tree, it is worth placing a net over the water to catch the leaves when they descend in autumn

• Eke out the last colour in your pots and hanging baskets by trimming off the dead growth and feeding with liquid fertiliser.

All the above could be overwhelming: however, it is an opportunity to introduce interesting new species and varieties.

I am told that the Chinese word for “crisis” is the same as “opportunity”.

I like that.

August: social watering!

Maybe I am a bit weird, but I am enjoying aspects of this hosepipe ban. Every night I go out with my watering can and do the rounds often talking to neighbours as I go about my important business. I am making new connections, new contacts and new friends.

Neighbours helping out when I am away and me doing likewise all adds to the good vibe and my long held conviction that land and community are in our DNA. It really wasn’t that long ago that our dependency on the seasons and working together was so critical to our survival. Who could deny that a shared task and a job well done creates the well being factor that is so needed in an age where isolation and mental health issues are so frequently talked about?

I confess that I am not always that keen to share that the water in my can has just come from last night’s bath but at least I know it is going to good use.

There is plenty to do this month other than watering:

• Dead head herbaceous plants, not forgetting dahlias and roses: these will all usually give you repeat flowering later in the year.

• Wisteria will need their summer prune. This gives a chance for light and air to ripen sturdier growth and produce better flowers. The technique is to cut back the whippier new tendrils to about 5 x buds, to just above the bud. Don’t forget that Wisterias need another chop in late winter.

• Avoid using tap water if you can when everyone in the neighbourhood is having a shower or washing up: they won’t thank you when the water pressure drops!

• Leave your grass trimmings on the lawn (in areas where you are lucky enough to have your lawn needing to be mown!): it will help retain moisture as they break down.

• Cut back rambling roses when they have finished flowering. Cut back a third of the oldest stems to the base then shorten the side stems by two thirds.

• Hedges can be given a final trim before their growth begins to slow down in September.

• Worms will find it hard to flourish in dry summer months. Although this is a wet one, piles of grass cuttings under shrubs or hedges will still bring them into your garden where they can do the good work of helping keep the soil healthy.

• Trim conifer hedges if you have not done so already: avoid cutting into the brown wood as on most species, it will not regrow. Trim lavenders too but avoid cutting into the old growth.

• Wildflower areas should be cut down at the end of the month. It is important to rake up the cut material to keep reducing the nitrogen level of the soil: this encourages the production of flowers. By leaving the cut material a day or two, seeds can drop and increase the density of flowering material for the following year.

An unexpected bonus to sharing the tasks is the appearance of some rather nice wine in the evenings. Conversations, links, interests and opinions are all shared. It hardly feels like a chore anymore!

July: working up a sweat!

In a season of fabulous sport, it is good to be distracted from the oppressive heat and the demands of keeping everything watered.

I’m sure I need not bore you with this but unfortunately, these weather extremes are likely to become the norm. So, when planning your garden, deciding what to buy at the garden centre of village fete, my advice would be to carefully consider the demands of your plants. 

As a business, we are no longer buying certain trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants and tending towards robust hot climate plants that can withstand a hammering from the wet and frost too. These are heavy demands and fortunately there is a wonderful range of options opening up to us. 

I will go into this in the autumn (the best planting season when the soil is still warm and the rains are due), but in the meantime there are the usual jobs to do in and around the garden:

• Use grey water for watering where you can, harvested from baths, sinks and showers. For hygiene purposes, use within 24 hours and not on edible crops as pathogens and bacterial growth may cause harm.

• The bird population will appreciate keeping the bird bath topped up but by keeping them clean, you prevent the spread of diseases such as bird pox.

• Water your containers and newly planted trees and shrubs: it is surprising how quickly they will dry out.

• Remove suckers sprouting from grafts on roses and grafted trees

• Deadhead roses and keep an eye out for signs of powdery mildew, blackspot or rust. Prevention is always better than cure so water, feed and pick off rust or blackspot affected leaves.

• Cut back Delphiniums and hardy Geraniums and other herbaceous plants with a similar habit after the first flush of flowers: this will encourage a second flowering period. Feed after cutting them back.

• Prune June-flowering shrubs such as Philadelphus and Weigela after flowering. Prune deciduous Magnolias if necessary.

• Prune Wisteria in cooler areas, waiting until next month in warmer counties to prevent the plant producing too much new growth after pruning. Cut back to 5 or 6 leaves.

• Fast-growing hedges such as Leyland cypress should be clipped as necessary throughout the growing season. Clip topiary to the desired shapes.

• Box plants and hedges have been increasingly susceptible to damage by moths/caterpillars in recent years. If you find any, pick them off or spray them but be aware that warm, wet weather can cause leaf drop due to box blight fungal infection.

• If your floral displays need perking up give them a weekly shot of high-potassium liquid fertiliser. Deadhead the flowers when they are over.

• Ponds are never maintenance-free! Thin out vigorous oxygenating plants leaving the prunings on the side of the pond to allow the aquatic creatures back into the water. Try to keep about 30% of the water clear of plants.

• Baby hedgehogs will be looking for sustenance this month: leaving the slugs for them to eat and ensuring ponds gently sloped access points will help.

Gardening habits are deep seated: there is comfort in routine. It is good to take our gardening spectacles off now and again and give them a rub. As it stands, we probably don’t have much option!

Oh - and in all this, do make sure you water yourself!

June: summertime

After recently visiting several historic gardens, I was tempted to re-write the scene from Life of Brian where shouts of protest went up exclaiming: “What did the Romans ever do for us?”.

I think it should be “What did the Victorians ever do for us?”.

An awful lot it seems – especially in the world of horticulture. Those on the top and even in the middle of the pile had the time, the money and the interest to not only travel the globe in search of new species: they had a highly developed industrial base to fall back on in order to develop impressive greenhouses and methods to buffer them against British frosts.

Kew gardens probably have the best-known examples of this but on the South Coast there are the gardens of Arundel Castle to fire up one’s imagination. There are hundreds of examples like this dotted throughout the country.

It is worth knowing too, that a great number of the plant species that you find in garden centres originate from foreign shores and were discovered with plenty of blood, sweat and tears. Magnolias, Wisteria, Hostas and Bergenias are, for example, all native to different parts of Asia.

Knowing where a plant comes from can help in its care: a bit like knowing where your food comes from, it can help with your appreciation and understanding. If you ever find yourself bored, then look up some of the stories of Victorian plant hunters roaming the globe. Truly Ripping Yarns!

In the meantime, there is plenty to be getting on with this month:

• Mulch around the base of trees and shrubs if you haven’t done so already: this will help retain the moisture and keep the annual weeds at bay.

• Cut back early flowering perennials such as delphiniums, lupins and oriental poppies after their first flowering. This will give them a chance to flower again on the new growth.

• Cutting down the stems of the spring flowering bulbs such as daffodils.

• Cutting and clipping Privet, box and evergreen honeysuckle hedges (Lonicera nitida)

• Philadelphus, Kolkwitzia, Weigela and Deutzia can all be pruned after they have flowered. In doing so the new growth will have time to develop in order that they may flower the following year.

• Give Clematis montana a good hacking if needed when they are over (they can take it!) and tie in other climbers.

• Remove stems of any variegated plants that are reverting to their original colour or the whole plant will ‘revert’.

• Stake tall herbaceous plants: purpose made metal, or canes can be used but equally good are off cuts from beech or similar trees. They are less visible, look more natural and have an attractive shape.

• Give ailing plants a shot of liquid feed as that is the best way to give them a lift.

• Evergreens such as Viburnum tinus and Choisya can also be cut and shaped once they have flowered.

• Roses can be deadheaded to encourage repeat flowering when they fade. Do this by cutting just above the first leaf below the faded bloom.

• Raise the blade level of your mower in dry spells to reduce stress and make the grass less likely to go brown. No mowing at all is even better!

• Top up water levels in ponds using rainwater if possible.

If going out to China armed with quinine, butterfly nets and specimen trays seems a bit ambitious then looking up the origins of the plants in your garden may suffice. The slightly ambiguous sentiments one might hold concerning the Victorians may not be completely altered, but they will certainly become more highly coloured!

May: green parties!

The lime-greens that emerge this month are staggering: it must be the contrast to the barrenness of the winter months that make them so perfect. And suddenly everything is growing at pace.

Plants will need tying in, and weedy patches kept on top of. The rains have come but scratch beneath the surface and you will often find bone dry soil and some thirsty roots: another dry spell is predicted so keeping a watering can or hose handy will be a good idea for plants in their first growing season.

Late frosts can catch out those who are keen on bedding plants so keep an eye on the evening weather forecasts and a sheet or fleece readily available.

It is a joy to get out into the lighter days and there are plenty of tasks to do:

• Summer bedding in pots, planters and hanging baskets can be planted out in milder areas: watch out for late frosts in more northern counties and frost pockets.

• In cutting back spring flowering shrubs, you still have to be wary of nesting birds: check the plant thoroughly, especially if they back onto a wall. These shrubs include Choisya, Ribes and Chaenomoles.

• Spirea ‘Arguta’ and Kerria japinca can have one stem in three removed and the other stems shortened to a suitable side shoot.

• Viburnum tinus, Senecio, Ligustrum and other similar evergreens including Magnolias can be shaped and trimmed this month.

• Clematis montana is a vigorous climber that often needs to be kept in check: you can be pretty brutal with this climber after it has flowered.

• Cut back Pyracantha to the desired size but remember that you may have to wait a couple of years for the berries to appear in winter if you cut them too hard.

• Climbing and rambling roses will produce more flowers if you are able to tie the side shoots as close to the horizontal plane as possible: this restricts the flow of sap.

• Lawns can be fed, and it is not too late to add fertiliser to plants, especially new or struggling ones that may need additional strength.

• Try to stay on top of the weeds by using a hoe or laying matting and mulch.

• Be careful not to over-water new plants in gardens with heavy, clayey soils: they will wilt and die as air cannot get to the roots.

• Daffodils and other early spring bulbs can be lifted and divided at the end of the month as can water lilies.

Don’t be intimidated by the gardens in the glossy magazines and seemingly perfect TV gardens: there is as much value in a few well-loved members of your garden family than the millions spent on staged pieces. The real issue is not how much we look at them but how much we actually SEE them.

Small is beautiful in my book!

April: some showers, we hope!

With all those recent wet winter months, it seems a strange thing to be recommending adding water to your garden! However, it looks as if we are in for quite a dry spell in the critical growing months of April and May. This is the time when plants need to be drawing on moisture to enable them to produce energy to grow.

A new tree or shrub will suffer if they are trying to establish themselves in their first growing season away from the cosseted environment of a plant nursery where they will have been regularly drip-fed water and nutrients. You don’t need to go overboard – half a watering can a week for a shrub and a full one for a tree should do the trick.

With the brighter days now upon us, there is plenty to get on with:

• Move evergreens: this is the best time of year to move or plant evergreens. Avoid waterlogged or parched soils.

• Divide herbaceous perennials and grasses: Phlox, Hemerocallis and Hosta are all best divided now. Use two forks back to back to split the tougher plants.

• Lawn repairs: now the frosts are receding, seed can be bought online and sown on patches that have become worn. Remember to prepare the ground by scraping off any unwanted weeds or worn grass and giving the area a good rake over. Add a sprinkling of compost and try to keep hungry birds away.

• Prune shrubs after they have flowered: Forsythia and Chaenomeles fall into this category. Hardy Fuchsia can be cut back to healthy buds.

• Pond plants: now is the time to get at the water lilies and marginal plants, to divide them into smaller clumps in order to avoid them choking the life out of a pond.

• Wildlife: if you are in the mood for clearing, cutting and composting, please be aware that this is the time of year when much of the local wildlife will be making their nesting homes. Avoid hedge cutting and be attentive when you are tidying up sheltered corners of the garden. You can help hedgehogs move around from garden to garden by making small gaps at the base of fences.

• Composting and mulching: add compost or well-rotted manure to borders and around the bases of trees and shrubs: this will help keep the moisture in, the weeds off and give a slow release of nutrients. It is a good time to turn your compost heap material too.

• Prune those plants that have been affected by cold winds and the winter such as the Acers or Choisya. Cut back the stems to the healthy growth.

• Cut back to 10 centimetres from the ground those tender plants that are shrub-like in habit but that are actually herbaceous plants. These include Caryopteris, Fuchsia and Penstemon.

• Put in plant supports where needed and canes to mark where vulnerable plants are emerging: by doing this they will not be overlooked when watering and weeding.

• Lower the blade of your lawn mower as the grass becomes more lush and more able to take a finer cut.

• Feed your lawn with a nitrogen rich fertiliser - preferably an organic one.

• Add compost or manure to the base of shrub and standard roses.

• Divide and replant herbaceous plants that have flowered including Brunnera, Pulmonaria and Primula.

• Lift and divide daffodils and other spring flowering bulbs.

• Make sure your pond has ledges and access points for wildlife (such as tadpoles) to get in and out of the water. Clear off any excess pond weed.

Every spring seems to be a miracle, every colour and bright bud heralding good times.

Go on – why not join in?

March: nearly there...!

It has been a slog, hasn’t it? I hardly dare to believe Spring is here – and the cold weather may yet come back to bite us, but at least it is lighter, cheerier and people are beginning to smile in the street when they meet each other!

A few years ago I helped with a garden that had two long borders at the entrance. Once upon a time the planting was quite bitty and lacking in cohesion. Now, with a dark Yew hedge backing these borders, all the colours, especially the Spring colours, shout out in glorious yellows and pales greens that the good times are almost here. You will get far more out of your garden if you think about how to show off the plants to their best advantage.

Daffodils do a wonderful job at this: if you are going to plant them, try to establish “drifts” rather than straight lines. Densely planted they will make far more of an impact. There have never been a wider range of Hellebores to choose from, but the whites and limey yellows will lift any border. Forsythia will do what they do best and Mahonia will add scent with their yellows.

Many Euphorbias will give strong shapes as well as yellows, especially those from around and near the Mediterranean such as characias wulfenii and ‘Humpty Dumpty’, it’s diminutive relative.

Fortunately, we don’t have to go to the Mediterranean for them these days – which makes time for this month’s tasks!

• Keep planting bare-root trees and shrubs but wait until the end of the month before you plant or move evergreens.

• Cut back dogwood and willow shrubs with the vibrant stems if you want them to produce strong colours next winter. Taking them down as far as 100mm (4 inches) from the ground is fine. (The ‘Winter Flame’ and ‘Anny’s Winter Orange’ varieties should be left for a few years until they are established and then only lightly pruned). You can leave this task till late in the month or even next month if you are enjoying the stem colours.

• When the worst of the frosts are over, divide and replant clumps of herbaceous plants that have become too dense for their own good.

• In heavy soil and cold areas, march is the best month for planting roses. Prune bush roses by about a third of their height.

• In preparation for the new growth and flowering in the summer, prune Buddleja, Caryopteris, Ceratostigma, Hydrangea paniculata, Leycesteria, Lavatera, Perovskia and hardy Fuchsia. Look up how far back they should be pruned: this will vary according to what you are trying to achieve and the location of the plant.

• Mow lawns but on a high cut setting and not when frosts are about to appear as it will damage the lawn.

• Plant and divide snowdrops and winter aconites.

• Plant summer flowering bulbs and sow some seeds such as sweet peas.

• Cut back ornamental grasses, even if they do not look unruly, as this will make way for new growth. Rake out the old growth from gasses such as Stipa tenuissima.

If your garden feels a bit stale or predictable after a long winter, then why not visit one of the great gardens near you open to the public? It’s hard to come away from them without feeling lifted up.

February: webbed feet

I am beginning to envy pond life (not to mention feeling a bit like pond life).

A couple of years ago we built a “natural” pond carved out of heavy clay soil and fed by the downpipes of the client’s house. Very quickly it was colonised by insects and a wide variety of wildlife. The family dog loves water and is in heaven: with the coming of spring and summer the pond soon became a myriad of colours and shapes as aquatic and moisture loving plants took hold of this little eco-system.

I am not built to skate on water, hang off leaves or plant my feet in the mud at the bottom of a muddy hollow. I wish I were.

However, I am designed to look on in awe at what is emerging this month: snowdrops, swelling buds, catkins, daffodils, Daphnes and all the early pollinators buzzing around picking up any colour and scent available. A friend recently dragged me into a copse to show me his discovery – a Daphne bholua majestically showing off it’s pink, scented flowers on its arching stems.

I suggested he broke off a few very small, scented branches and gave them to his wife: I can’t believe they would fail to do the trick after he had had several annoyed phone messages from her (!).

So, when not wandering around in the rain, there are plenty of jobs to be getting on with this month in preparation for Spring:

• In milder areas, or when the warmer weather starts appearing, most hardy shrubs with hollow stems, such as Buddleja davidii and Perovskia can be pruned this month.

• Plant bare-root roses: adding organic matter will boost growth.

• Climbers that have become oversized can be cut back hard: honeysuckle and the richly coloured and vigorous Boston Ivy (Parthenocissus ), respond well to this treatment.

• Whilst the tawny coloured stems of ornamental grasses such as Miscanthus and Calamagrostis are a joy to behold in the winter months, especially in the winter sunlight, early spring is the time to cut them back to ground level. Wait until new growth can be seen before applying the chop.

• Clean up bamboo where stems have died back or collapsed over winter.

• Trim heathers after they have flowered to keep them compact and vigorous.

• Divide snowdrops to distribute them over a wider area.

• Cut back shrub roses by about one third (following the autumn pruning of a third), pruning to just above an outward pointing bud, trying to create an open, “bowl” shape to the rose. Cut off any suckers emerging from the root stock.

• Bird life will be looking to nest in spring so ensure all hedge trimming and renovation is completed by the end of the month.

There is no harm in breaking off a few small stems of a scented Daphne or Sarcococca and combining them with flowers and foilage of a Hellebore to create a gorgeous mini flower arrangement for a kitchen table.

You hope it might produce a better conversation than watching the news...!

January: welcoming the New Year

It is coming… slowly! I can just begin to detect the days getting longer (though my heating bill is something I try not to think about)!

Snowdrops are emerging and some of the daffs that capture the sunlight are starting to nod their yellow heads. Inspiration at this time of year often comes from some great garden programmes and delicious looking books on international gardens – all carefully edited to bring out the colours and the vibrancy of the subject matter!

The current trend for incorporating more grasses is exonerated too: tanned, sinewy shapes moving in the wind and seed heads on tall stems are not only pleasing to look at but also provide food for birdlife.

Once outside there is plenty to be getting on with and the scent of winter honeysuckle, Sarcoccocca and some Viburnums combined with the sound of birdsong soon gets me motivated. Tasks to undertake this month include:

• Brush and spread worm casts that appear on the lawn.

• Prune Wisteria: cut back summer-pruned shoots to 2 or 3 buds from their base. This encourages short branches (flowering spurs). Best to avoid pruning older, thicker wood unless you have to.

• Tie in any climbing roses that have become loose and unruly. To do this, shorten flowering side shoots by two thirds and remove about a third old branches at the base.

• Clean out bird boxes and feeders washing with very hot water

• Keep your lawn as free from old leaves and debris as possible: these can inhibit light and cause mould.

• Mole activity is most obvious in January and February due to mating and nest making. Remove the earth mounds and sow grass seed in spring.

• Spike areas of the lawn that are prone to water logging using a fork and edge the lawns whilst the ground is soft.

• Snip off old leaves of Hellebores to help keep the plant free from fungal leaf.

• Check tree ties and stakes. The cold winter winds can knock newly established plants all over the place. Give plants added protection if necessary.

• Plant bare-root trees, shrubs and fruit.

• Make the most of the lack of vegetation on most plants to get into shrubberies to remove brambles and self-seeded saplings.

• Take hardwood cuttings of Cornus, Viburnums and Weigelia. Cut 15-30cms lengths and place into sand filled trenches or deep pot of peat-free cuttings compost.

• Try to avoid walking on frosty grass as it marks the lawn.

I don’t mind that – I need all the enthusiasm I can muster in January. A flask of tea or coffee outside always helps and tastes superb in the cold. And left over Christmas cake. And a lot of other things.

Go on, have a bit more – you can always work it off in the spring.

December: the waiting game

It is hard to get enthusiastic about gardening in this weather: grey skies, wet underfoot and short days. Christmas lights, fires and festivities always seem like a great idea now!

If you check the weather forecast you will, however, discover that there is usually one bright day a week to enjoy: it is timing your time off that is the tricky part!

When you can get out into the garden there are a number of tasks that will make the coming months work easier to manage:

• Birches, vines and Japanese maples are best pruned at this time of year. Vines are less likely to bleed sap.

• Renovation of climbing roses is best done between now and February by thinning and reducing stems by approximately one third and taking out dead and diseased stems. Look up the RHS site for more details.

• Bare root trees and shrubs can be planted now. This is a very economical way of establishing hedges, especially as wildlife boundaries.

• With the chances of high winds growing more likely, it is sensible to ensure that all trees are properly tethered and climbers and cut back and tied in.

• Protect your outdoor taps from frost by covering them with hessian or bubble wrap: it is the expansion of the water when it turns to ice that bursts a pipe.

• A log or a football in a pond will prevent the total coverage of ice during a frozen spell. Ensure the log or football can be reached and removed!

• Be careful when you are tidying up a shed or having a bonfire: all sorts of creatures may be making their homes for the winter there.

• A stack of logs building materials (especially clay tiles and pipes) offer overwintering bugs a hotel for the cold months!

• Make sure outdoor taps are insulated against the frost, either by wrapping them in cloth, bubble wrap or by draining them and turning off their water supply

• Deciduous hedges such as beech and hornbeam can be renovated now. If drastic reduction is needed, then this task is best done over several winters

• Keep raking the leaves off the lawn as grass that does not get oxygen and light will soon become mouldy and start to deteriorate

• In order to improve drainage, use a fork to spike areas of the lawn that usually get flooded

• Hellebores that have very small flowers can be greatly improved by cutting off the leaves that obscure the flowers

• Prune open grown apples: refer to books or the net for more advice on this as the extent of pruning depends on the age and type of plant

• Add organic matter to heavy, claggy soil and let the worms do the work: they will be more far more effective than tramping and compressing the soil structure if you try to dig it when wet.

• Water evergreens in containers as wind can draw out a lot of moisture and dehydrate them.

I always feel a twinge of guilt when offered a mince pie and cream: not so when I have just been heaving plants, branches, soil and tools about. It is, after all, Advent – a time of waiting and preparing. We wait for the darkest days to pass, for the frantic shopping to pass, for the endless arrangements to come together, for the start of a new year, of new life and of new hope.

What is there not to like?