• Recycle your Christmas tree by shredding it for mulch
• Ventilate the greenhouse on sunny days
• Dig over any vacant plots that have not been dug already
• Repair and re-shape lawn edges
• Inspect stored tubers of Dahlia, Begonia and Canna for rots or drying out
• Prune apple and pear trees
• Start forcing rhubarb
• Plan your vegetable crop rotations for the coming season
• Keep putting out food and water for hungry birds
• Prepare a polythene shelter for outdoor peaches and nectarines, to protect them from peach leaf curl

• Prepare vegetable seed beds, and sow some vegetables under cover
• Chit potato tubers
• Protect blossom on apricots, nectarines and peaches
• Net fruit and vegetable crops to keep the birds off
• Prune winter-flowering shrubs that have finished flowering
• Divide bulbs such as snowdrops, and plant those that need planting 'in the green’
• Prune Wisteria
• Prune hardy evergreen hedges and renovate overgrown deciduous hedges
• Prune conservatory climbers
• Cut back deciduous grasses left uncut over the winter

• Plant shallots, onion sets and early potatoes
• Protect new spring shoots from slugs
• Plant summer-flowering bulbs
• Lift and divide overgrown clumps of perennials
• Top dress containers with fresh compost
• Mow the lawn on dry days (if needed)
• Cut back Cornus (dogwood) and Salix (willow) grown for colourful winter stems
• Weeds come back in to growth - deal with them before they get out of hand
• Start feeding fish and using the pond fountain; remove pond heaters
• Open the greenhouse or conservatory doors and vents on warm days

• Keep weeds under control
• Protect fruit blossom from late frosts
• Tie in climbing and rambling roses
• Sow hardy annuals and herb seeds
• Start to feed citrus plants
• Increase the water given to houseplants
• Feed hungry shrubs and roses
• Sow new lawns repair bare patches
• Prune fig trees
• Divide bamboos and waterlilies

• Watch out for late frosts. Protect tender plants
• Earth up potatoes, and promptly plant any still remaining
• Plant out summer bedding at the end of the month (except in cold areas)
• Collect rainwater and investigate ways to recycle water for irrigation
• Regularly hoe off weeds
• Open greenhouse vents and doors on warm days
• Mow lawns weekly
• Check for nesting birds before clipping hedges
• Lift and divide overcrowded clumps of daffodils and other spring-flowering bulbs
• Watch out for viburnum beetle and lily beetle grubs

• Hoe borders regularly to keep down weeds
• Be water-wise, especially in drought-affected areas
• Pinch out sideshoots on tomatoes
• Harvest lettuce, radish, other salads and early potatoes
• Position summer hanging baskets and containers outside
• Mow lawns weekly
• Plant out summer bedding
• Stake tall or floppy plants
• Prune many spring-flowering shrubs
• Shade greenhouses to keep them cool and prevent scorch

• Check clematis for signs of clematis wilt
• Place conservatory plants outside now that it is warm
• Water tubs and new plants if dry, but be water-wise
• Deadhead bedding plants and repeat-flowering perennials, to ensure continuous flowering
• Pick courgettes before they become marrows
• Treat apple scab
• Clear algae, blanket weeds and debris from ponds, and keep them topped up
• Order catalogues for next year’s spring-flowering bulbs
• Give the lawn a quick-acting summer feed, especially if a spring feed was not done
• Give woodwork a lick of paint or preserver, while the weather is dry

• Prune Wisteria
• Don’t delay summer pruning restricted fruits
• Deadhead flowering plants regularly
• Watering! Particularly containers, and new plants - preferably with grey recycled water or stored rainwater
• Collect seed from favourite plants
• Harvest sweetcorn and other vegetables as they become ready
• Continue cutting out old fruited canes on raspberries
• Lift and pot up rooted strawberry runners
• Keep ponds and water features topped up
• Feed the soil with green manures

• Divide herbaceous perennials
• Pick autumn raspberries
• Collect and sow seed from perennials and hard y annuals
• Dig up remaining potatoes before slug damage spoils them
• Net ponds before leaf fall gets underway
• Keep up with watering of new plants, using rain or grey water if possible
• Start to reduce the frequency of houseplant watering
• Clean out cold frames and greenhouses so that they are ready for use in the Autumn
• Cover leafy vegetable crops with bird-proof netting
• Give evergreen hedges a final trim

• Clear up fallen autumn leaves regularly
• Cut back perennials that have died down
• Divide herbaceous perennials and rhubarb crowns
• Move tender plants, including aquatic ones, into the greenhouse
• Plant out spring cabbages
• Harvest apples, pears, grapes and nuts
• Prune climbing roses
• Order seeds for next year
• Last chance to mow lawns and trim hedges in mild areas
• Renovate old lawns or create new grass areas by laying turf

• Clear up fallen leaves - especially from lawns, ponds and beds
• Raise containers onto pot feet to prevent waterlogging
• Plant tulip bulbs for a spring display next year
• Prune roses to prevent wind-rock
• Plant out winter bedding
• Cover brassicas with netting if pigeons are a problem
• Insulate the greenhouse from frost - bubblewrap works well
• Stop winter moth damage to fruit trees using grease bands around the trunks
• Put out bird food to encourage winter birds into the garden
• Use a seasonal bonfire - where this is allowed - to dispose of excess debris unfit for composting

• Check your winter protection structures are still securely in place
• Check that greenhouse heaters are working OK
• Prevent ponds and stand pipes from freezing
• Prune open-grown apples and pears (but not those trained against walls)
• Prune acers, birches and vines before Christmas to avoid bleeding
• Harvest leeks, parsnips, winter cabbage, sprouts and remaining root crops
• Deciduous trees and shrubs can still be planted and transplanted
• Take hardwood cuttings
• Keep mice away from stored produce
• Reduce watering of houseplants

Below are graphs of our average rainfall taken by a villager since 1993. The figures are not official, just amateur readings but some of the information is fascinating:-

• Our driest year was 2005 at 386mm
• Our wettest year was 2012 at 790mm with 287mm falling between April and June
• The average rainfall over this 26 year period is 547mm per year (22”)