Sue Baines.

With sogginess still prevailing, I find it hard to think that Spring really is on its way, yet the birds are singing and the bulbs are showing, and the beautiful snowdrops are fully out. Dry days have seen Geoff trying to finish trimming the hedges, before the birds start nesting. I have been concentrating on clearing the beds for my hardy annual seeds. Poppies, Clarkia and Love-in-a- Mist are favourites.

They cope with cool spells, but my half-hardy seeds won't be sown till mid-March, and will have the protection of a propagator. Nets will need to be removed from the pond shortly, as the frogs have hardly hibernated this year.

I hope they are hungry, as there should be plenty of slugs for them! Do start protecting the young shoots of plants like Delphiniums and Lupins and any other tender growth. A good start has been made pruning the Roses, and lightly trimming Clematis, especially if they are early flowering, as I don't want to cut off any flower buds.

Roses are tougher and fairly forgiving, but I try to remove any dead or diseased stems, and any that are crossing and congested. I cut back to outward-facing buds. Last year I fed both Roses and Clematis with long-life granules and well rotted manure.

The granules last six months and are so easy to apply at this time of year. My giant ‘Skyscraper’ Lillies have been planted in large pots in situ. This year I will make sure I can get to them easily (so I can squash lily beetles!).