DON’T think the garden is a “no-go area” at this time of the year. Certainly, if there is persistently wet weather, you don't want to get soaked or slip on uneven ground. By treading over your garden, you may well compress the soil and make conditions even more difficult.

At these times, enjoy views from your windows over the garden, feed and identify garden birds, and plan what you will be doing in the garden over the year ahead. Books and seed catalogues can give you plenty of ideas. It is easy to get carried away ordering seeds, so carefully plan what it is realistic to grow in the space you have available.

But let’s talk about what you can be doing outside when the weather is reasonable. Sweep leaves and make a leaf pile or put them in black sacks which need to be pierced to aerate them and keep them until lovely compost is formed. Leaves are best composted on their own and can take a long time to decompose but leaf mould is some of the best compost you can make.

Tidying up pathways and boundaries of your garden is really helpful. Clean paths that may becoming slippery.

Keep on top of weeds. Particularly in milder periods, they will be growing vigorously and, whilst some can be pretty and attractive to pollinators, others can quickly take over.

Do remember to protect vulnerable plants with fleece or cloches if the weather is going to be very cold.

It is a good time of the year to prune apple and pear trees. The aim is to not remove any more than 20 per cent of the canopy, focusing on cutting out dead and diseased branches or any that cross one another, to create an open centre.

Taking hard wood cuttings from deciduous shrubs is really easy and they can be kept outside.

If the ground isn’t frozen, it is a good time of year to be planting new shrubs and trees. Look where there are gaps and move plants around. Think about herbaceous plants like Iris and hardy geraniums that have grown into very large and wide clumps. These would benefit from being divided into smaller rooted clumps and spread around the garden.

Look at what you can see around you. Above all, enjoy tree trunks, berries and foliage. There is lots to be enjoying and looking at.

Martin Pallett