January and February are the final months of meteorological winter and our gardens are likely in a state of frosty and frozen dormancy. However, that should not prevent us gardeners from getting into the garden, it’s so good for our mind and body. We can achieve a lot in these early months in preparation for the rest of the gardening calendar.

The weather is typically very cold, with hard frosts and snowy conditions. It’s important that we stake in plants and shrubs and tie in any loose climbers to the wall, fence, trellis or archway frame. We should softly brush off any snow settled on shrubs and plants as it can damage the branches, leaves and scorch new buds.

The soil in our gardens is very moist and soft at this time of year so we can turn soil and pick weeds with relative ease meaning our gardens will move into springtime with less well rooted weeds taking hold. Whilst tidying weeds up, we can deadhead winter Cyclamen, Primroses and Pansies to keep them looking fresh and tidy before they end their season.

We can turn any winter blues green by getting into gardens and outdoor spaces. The days are very gradually pulling out, wildlife is very slowly becoming more active and the garden is starting to come back to life, with a wide range of spring bulbs sprouting through the soil of our beds, borders, pots and containers. Snowdrops and Crocuses are already flowering whilst Daffodils, Hyacinth, Muscari, Alliums and Tulips await prolonged milder spells of forthcoming springtime.

It’s the ideal time to create a new border or build a raised bed in the garden, to provide extra space to plant, grow and enjoy more of our favourite plants and flowers. A border can be dug out directly into the ground and a raised bed built by placing railway sleepers into an interlocking shape of your choice and filling it with a bottom layer of soil and top layer of general purpose compost.