Its still cold, wet and possibly frosty, but don’t neglect the garden.

Plenty of jobs to be getting on with from planning your planting schemes to cleaning up your tools and out houses and other garden structures.

Start with a good tidy up and check garden structures.

Leaves can be collected, especially off the lawn which will discourage mossy lawns you can also inspect lawns for excess moss and think about treating them in early spring with a all round moss killer, herbicide and lawn fee.

Mulch leaves separately from the general compost and in return you will have an excellent leaf mould compost to use the following year.  Collect fallen branches and twigs make use of them, construct shelters for garden critters and inspects, perhaps under a hedge or a hidden corner of the garden.

If its not frosty paths can be pressure washed to clear off moss before the weather warms in spring when moss will start actively growing.

This is a good time of year to fix structures.  Check your garden fence, particularly the posts for any movement. Shed walls and roofs and other structures ensure they are safe and structurally sound. On a dry, frost free day you can start staining and protecting wooden structures.  Once your garden is tidied and repaired you will naturally want to spend more time there rest of the year, time spent tidying and fixing now will give you more time to spend on other areas in the coming months.

Plan what you would want to grow and where

You do not have to keep your garden the same every year, it is a fluid area which you can change every year.

Think about which parts of the garden could do with extra colour or any areas that are too shaded from large trees and shrubs  consider removing over grown plants, shrubs and cut back dead branches, overcrowded or damaged branches always use professional help if it requires working at height.

Vegetable beds can be planned out, so you know what seeds to buy and make a start on constructing growing structures such as bean poles.   You many only have a small balcony, patio or a court yard garden but you can start thinking about what containers to use, what to plant in them and where they should be positioned.

Early February is a good time to dig over borders and vegetable beds – careful not to disturb herbaceous plants or spring bulbs, if you do gently push them back into the ground.  Once dug over let nature take its course clods will break down naturally.  Apply manure or home made compost to borders and vegetable beds which will give emerging plants a boost when needed in spring.

Its not too late to plant out early flowering bulbs such as snowdrops and crocus which go well in lawns and will spread year on year giving you a blanket of colour late winter.