There is still plenty to keep you going in your winter garden over the next few months and on crisp, sunny days it can be a real pleasure spending time outdoors. Here are some hints and tips on what to tackle over the next few months.

Top Garden Jobs for December

• Rake up leaves from grass to avoid damage to your lawn.
• Dig over areas in preparation for sowing a new lawn in spring.
• Prune Acers, Birches and Vines.
• Plant bare-root fruit. If the ground is too frosty when you get the plants, roughly plant them in a temporary spot ready to move to their final position once the weather improves.
• Put a floating ball in the pond to stop part of the ice freezing. This allows methane gas produced by decaying vegetation to escape.

Top Garden Jobs for January

• Unless the borders are wet or frozen, you can start digging them for new planting
• Cut back old leaves from perennials, being careful not to damage new shoots
• Wash old pots and tools ready for spring
• Cover pre-dug soil with fleece, polythene or cloches to warm the soil ready for sowing or planting
• Plant open ground roses, shrubs, trees and fruit

Top Garden Jobs for February/March

• Split established clumps of herbaceous perennials to improve flowering and vigour.
• Cut back summer flowering clematis hard to promote growth and trim back flowered shoots on winter Jasmine
• Still time to clear the ground, removing any old plants and dig it over providing the ground is dry. It’s a good time to add any additional organic matter such as garden compost.
• Cut back all old stems on ornamental grasses to ground level to make room for the green growth that will be starting to push through usually in February.
• Divide snowdrops. To increase your clumps, lift them as flowers begin to fade and split them, replanting single bulbs a few centimetres apart.