It may be chilly outside – but that’s all the more reason to wrap up warm and enjoy a bright, crisp winter’s day in the garden. Here are some of the jobs you can be getting on with:
General tasks:
Protect vulnerable plants with cloches or double layers of horticultural fleece
Mow the lawn as long as the ground isn’t waterlogged – with this year’s mild winter it will still be growing
Ornamental garden:
Buy in summer bulbs such as cannas and gladioli to grow on indoors for now - they’re a highlight of the summer garden.
Fill gaps in your spring display with ready-potted snowdrops, daffodils and muscari from the garden centre.
Remove old leaves from hellebores to make the flowers more visible as they emerge and prevent disease.
Kitchen garden:
Stock up on seed potatoes from our garden centre here in Henley on Thames, then ‘chit’ them in egg trays till it’s time to plant.
Pot up onion sets in roomy modules to grow on under cover until March when you can plant them out as sturdy seedlings.
Grow microgreens on your windowsills: sow radishes, peas, chard or kale thickly on damp kitchen paper and snip into salads at 5cm high.