Plants to buy this month
• Snowdrops and hellebores. Buy plants in flower, so you can choose the blooms you like
General Garden maintenance
• Clear soggy leaves, algae and moss from paths, patios, decking and steps
• Top up bird baths with fresh water and feed birds high energy food to help them through the cold weeks ahead, remembering to scrub the feeders regularly
• Repair wobbly or damaged fences
• Give your lawn mower a basic service while not in use
• Put up bird boxes in sheltered spots, on tree trunks, sheds or walls
• Clean and sharpen your tools, including hoes, secateurs and shears. Spray metal tools with oil
• Sprinkle an all-purpose fertiliser along the base of hedges and around shrubs
• Trim back ivy, Virginia creeper and other climbers
• Give empty pots and seed trays a thorough wash and scrub
Flowerbeds
• Plant bare-root roses, shrub & hedging and ornamental trees, as long as the ground isn’t frozen
• Clear away and compost soggy, collapsed stems of perennials
• Remove larger leaves of established hellebores to reveal the flowers
• Press mistletoe berries into the bark of apple trees to establish your own mistletoe plants
• Clear leaf debris from small alpines
• Move dormant plants that are in the wrong place to more suitable sites
• Check for rot on stored bulbs and tubers, and ensure dahlia and canna tubers haven’t totally dried out
Pruning
• Continue pruning climbing roses, while they are dormant
• Prune apple and Pear trees
Greenhouse
• Sow winter salads in a greenhouse or on a sunny windowsill, for harvesting in a few weeks
• Tidy up the greenhouse, disposing of any broken pots & old compost etc
• Move potted strawberry plants under cover to encourage early fruiting
• Prepare your greenhouse for spring – look at ventilation, shading & heating
• Ventilate the greenhouse on sunny days to prevent humidity building up
Alpington and Yelverton 