THE ALMANAC - JANUARY

LAWNS 
1. Repair lawn edges, especially around flower and shrub beds, to crisp up the appearance of the garden, and save work next season.
2. This may be your last chance to get the lawnmower serviced in time for early spring mowing.
3. New turf can be laid if the weather is mild and the ground is not frozen. Work from planks when laying the turf, to avoid compaction.
4. Keep brushing away worm casts, as they can be troublesome at this time of year.
5. If the weather is mild, then you can repair hollows and bumps in the lawn by making an 'H' shaped cut in the turf, peeling back the grass, and either filling the hollow with loam, or scraping away the soil from a bump. Then re-lay the turf, press it into place and pinch the cut edges together.
6. Avoid walking on lawns on frosty mornings. It can damage the grass and often leads to brown footprint-shaped marks.

VEGETABLES 
1. Harvest sprouting broccoli, Brussels sprouts, leeks and Jerusalem artichokes.
2. Stake or earth up any Brussels sprouts stalks that look leggy and vulnerable to wind rock. Pick the biggest sprouts from low down the stalks first.
3. In mild areas, sow broad beans in pots, placing them in a cold frame or unheated greenhouse. These will be ready for planting out in spring.
4. Start forcing rhubarb. Place a large bucket, dustbin or forcing jar over the crown to encourage the fresh, pink shoots to form in the darkness. A few shovels of manure, straw and poultry manure pellets
thrown over the top will create extra warmth to speed up the process.
5. Other crops can also be germinated in pots on the windowsill, and then grown on in the greenhouse for planting out in February. This should result in early crops next year. Lettuces, summer brassicas
(e.g. cabbages and cauliflowers), radishes, tiny round carrots, spinach, salad onions and turnips are all suitable.
6. Save egg boxes as they will come in handy for potato chitting next month. Source your seed potatoes if you have not already done so.

GREENHOUSE
1. Check that light levels are sufficient for houseplants. They will need light to carry on over the winter, and can easily be forgotten in a back or spare room that receives little natural light, or with the curtains left drawn. They are best moved to sunny windowsill until March.
2. Don't leave houseplants on windowsills behind the curtains on frosty nights, especially if your windows are not double glazed.
3. Indoor forced bulbs that were in the house for Christmas displays, but which have now finished flowering, can be left outside in a sheltered spot in the garden, to finish dying down.
4. Pot up Hippeastrum (amaryllis) bulbs, and bring them into active growth with regular watering and feeding. They should give you beautiful flowers for the late winter/early spring.
5. Cyclamen persicum appreciates a cool room with good light. It is best watered from below (i.e. into the saucer, not the pot), as wetting the leaves can easily result in fungal infections and rotting off.
6. Cool conditions and regular watering will help keep potted indoor azaleas looking good for longer. Remember to water azaleas with rainwater collected in a rain butt, not with tap water.

TREES AND SHRUBS
1. Move established deciduous trees and shrubs, provided the ground is not frozen or waterlogged.
2. If there is snow in your area, then you may need to brush it off the branches of conifers, climbers and light-limbed shrubs and trees. Heavy snowfall can splay branches, break limbs and spoil the shape of the tree.
3. Prune Wisteria - cut back the sideshoots shortened by summer pruning to two or three buds. Avoid cutting off flower buds.
4. Ornamental vines, ivy, Virginia creeper and Boston ivy can be cut back now ­ it's a good idea to keep them away from windows, doors, gutters and roof tiles.
5. Take note of the most colourful dogwoods (Cornus), Salix and white-stemmed Rubus shrubs when visiting gardens open to the public, or in garden centres, and consider planting them yourself for a winter display.
6. Inspect sick looking box and holly trees for signs of blight.

ROSES
1. Plant roses, but avoid areas where roses were previously grown as this can lead to problems with replant diseases.
2. If you are planning to plant a new hedge , why not consider a  Queen Elizabeth rose hedge as this will provide a 6ft wall of colour for the best part of the summer and provide a living barrier for the whole of the year.
3. Refresh any rose labels that have faded before you lose their name altogether.
4. Replace any defective stakes before the worst weather sets in .
5. Tie in any climbers or ramblers that have broken free in recent winds.
6. Shape any unsightly growing bushes to improve their appearance.

PERENNIALS
1. Cut off old leaves of hellebores that produce flowers from ground level (including Helleborus x hybridus and H. niger) to expose the flowers and remove possible foliar diseases such as hellebore leaf
spot.
2. Start cutting back grasses and other perennials left for winter interest.
3. Sweet peas can be sown this month, inside a heated propagator, in long tubes filled with compost (toilet and kitchen rolls make good tubes). Some varieties need chitting (nicking of the seed coat),
and/or soaking, in order to germinate well. A cool room or sheltered cold frame is fine - no extra heat is required.
4. Sweet peas sown earlier in the autumn can now be potted on - a 9cm (3.5in) pot per plant is recommended. Place them on a sunny windowsill, or on a high shelf in the greenhouse that gets plenty
of light.
5. In mild areas, and during dry spells, you can still lift and divide herbaceous perennials. This will increase stocks, and revive tired or poorly flowering clumps.
6. Collect leaves that have blown over alpine beds as these plants are easily smothered. They may need careful picking over to remove all debris. Bare patches can be covered with gritty compost.