Winter finally arrived! We've been scraping the ice off the cars and enjoying the frosty mornings down here in West Sussex! The ground might have been too frozen to dig but there are many other tasks we can all be getting on with in the garden!

Sow/Plant:

Sow sweet pea, leeks, onions, broad beans, hardy peas, spinach and carrots under cover.

Sow tomato, pepper and cucumber in a heated propagator.

Plant bareroot roses, trees and shrubs.

Transplant trees/shrubs.

Plant out raspberry canes.

Mulch heavy clay soils with organic matter to improve structure and drainage.

Start chitting early potatoes.

Lift and divide any snowdrops that have

finished.

Harvest/Pick:

Leeks, parsnips, kale.

Snowdrops, aconites, hellebores, crocus.

Start forcing rhubarb.

Secateurs jobs:

Cut down autumn fruiting raspberries.

Prune roses.

Take hardwood cuttings.

Cut back cornus and salix.

Prune black currant buses.

Prune wisteria to 2/3 buds.

Prune over wintered fuchias.

Remove yellow brassica leaves and

black spot hellebore leaves.

Cut back spring and early summer

flowering clematis.

Winter prune apples/pears.

Store:

Bring in tender plants/pots into the

greenhouse or undercover.

Clear out and disinfect the greenhouse.

Wash out pots and module trays.

Sort out old seeds.

Lawns:

Get the mower serviced.

Edge the lawn with a half-moon for a really

neat finish.

Get out and enjoy the early bulbs, especially those snowdrops!