The month to get the seed catalogues out and begin ordering for next year. Make sure you have a cool, dry place to store your seed out of direct sunlight especially if, like me, you have a tendency to open the odd packet to see what certain seeds look like or indeed how many there are!



Trees and shrubs

In the garden keep on with the planting of trees and shrubs and dividing herbaceous perennials if weather permits. This is a good time to be pruning trees and shrubs in general as long as they are deciduous and have lost their leaves.



Cultivation

If you have not already started any cultivation ie digging, this is the month to start. Remember not to put subsoil on top of topsoil if you are digging deep holes or trenches and leave big clods to allow the weather to break them down naturally rather than smashing them up with the spade. Soil is alive and made up of living organisms and as such needs careful handling. Digging is often good, especially on heavy soils such as clay because it allows it to breathe and breaks up compaction but only dig ground that really needs digging. For example most vegetable gardens need only a light forking in spring so that the soil can then be raked down to a fine tilth for sowing.



Lawns and Borders

If the weather gets very wet or a permafrost sets in try and stay off the garden altogether. Much damage is done by trampling wet lawns and borders. Turn instead to your house plants and inspect them closely for any signs of scale insect or mealy bug. The latter can be removed using cotton buds soaked in paraffin, scale needs to be eased off with a slim knife.



Citrus

Avoid the temptation to over-water bigger house plants such as citrus, just a good soaking once a month will do but keep them misted every other day. Feeding should not begin until the spring when day length increases.