Slowly life is peeking out from between the fallen leaves. Buds are swelling on the trees and snowdrops are starting to open their flowers. Even the birds are singing with more vigour as they prepare to find mates and start a whole new generation.

Now is the time to start our preparations for the year ahead too. Once Spring has sprung we’ll be racing to catch up, so getting a little ahead is never a bad choice.

Prepare vegetable seed beds and start some growth indoors by chitting 1^st and 2^nd early potatoes. Onion sets can be started off in small pots and modules under glass, so when planted out, they’ll have a good compliment of roots and are less likely to be pulled up by birds who mistake them for worms.

Prune and shape Winter flowering shrubs that have finished blooming. You can also renovate over grown deciduous hedges and shrubs, but time is of the essence. Once birds start nesting you cannot continue, because disturbing nesting birds is illegal. It is always a good idea to carefully inspect any plant for nests before you start working on it.

Those of you lucky enough to grow Wisterias, can start your Winter prune now. Wisteria can be left to their own devices quite happily, but to keep them flowering well they are best pruned twice yearly. In February and early March, it is best to cut all whippy growth back to two or three buds. This will encourage plenty of flowers and make sure those flowers are not obscured by too many leaves. If you are planning to prune Wisteria hard, either to remove old stems or open up a congested area, plan your cuts carefully. The plan should be to create an evenly spaced framework. If the stems are intertwined with others, cut each back in short sections. You can even trace the stem back and tie string around each section to ensure you are cutting the correct growth.

Deciduous, ornamental grasses can now be cut back and evergreen forms can have the old, dead growth removed by running your gloved fingers through like a comb. Do wear gloves or your skin will be very sore.

Please do not cut back any perennials that can be damaged by frost such as Salvias, particularly those that originated in the southern hemisphere, and Penstemons etc, until they are in active growth and the conditions are kinder, later in the Spring. If you are not sure then don’t cut. No harm will be done by leaving the old growth in place, but a lot of damage can occur when some plants are cut back too soon.

Some mature clumps of herbaceous perennials can be lifted and split. The RHS is a great source of information, as is our website and we state if and when a plant can be split. If you were taking pictures of your garden last year, review them and see if any areas were not quite working. You can safely move most herbaceous perennials now to create a more harmonious planting scheme. Taking pictures of your garden every month creates a useful diary to help you assess the garden and identify where each plant is located. Remember, if you are standing in your flower bed to work, you need to avoid compacting the soil. Keep off it when it’s wet and/or disperse your weight by standing on a shortish plank.

If you have any fruiting trees or bushes, protect the blossom from frost with fleece when ever the weather forecast suggests a potential problem. Just remember to remove the fleece during the day so the pollinators can get in and do their job.

Finally, having reviewed the garden, you can now do a little wish list shopping and decide which plants you may like to add this coming year. Hardys have a filter option on our website to allow you search for plants that need specific conditions, or by height, colour and even flowering time. All Plants (hardysplants.co.uk)