Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4

Week 1

General
Cleaning furniture.

Riveting engraved labels to aluminium pegs.

Unable to get on to the borders due to hard frosts.

Allotment
Re-covered cold frame over hotbox to ensure minimum heat loss.

Forking over soil in preparation for covering with polythene.

Glasshouse
Cleaning through before main sowing begins.

Week 2

General
Split overcrowded clumps of CANNAS and repotted into 3 litre pots. These will stay in a frost-free greenhouse until the beginning of June when they will be planted out.

Shredding all pruning generated from reducing heights of some beech hedges.

Pruning BERBERIS thunbergii varieties, COTONEASTER, PARTHENOCISSUS, VITIS, WISTERIA, SAMBUCUS, CEANOTHUS (deciduous), HYPERICUM, MAHONIA X media varieties, SANTOLINA, SPIRAEA japonica varieties, ACTINIDIA, CLEMATIS (late flowering varieties) and BUDDLEJA davidii varieties.

Parterre
Given the beds a general tidy.

Allotment
Spur pruned REDCURRANTS.

Tidied out polythene tunnels in preparation for hardening off vegetable plants.

Nursery
Started potting seeds sown into modules in December into 12cm pots.
Cutting back, top dressing with a slow release fertiliser and cleaning up show plants.

Glasshouse
Sown TOMATO 'Tumbler', 'Summer Sweet', 'Gardener's Delight', 'Sungold' and 'Alicante' into trays.

Sown PEA 'Tafila' into guttering.

Multi sown CARROT 'Ingot', BEETROOT 'Bolthardy' and PARSNIP 'Countess' into modules.

Sown SWEET PEAS 'Norman Wisdom', 'Arthur Hellyer', 'Midnight', 'Cupani', 'Prima Donna', 'David Unwin', 'Princess Juliana' and 'Carlie' and MELON 'Bastion and BROAD BEAN 'The Sutton' into 7cm (3") pots.

Pricked out LETTUCE 'Kelly's'.

Potted TOMATO 'Green Zebra' into 7cm (3") pots.

Sown ONION 'Mammoth Red' and 'North Holland Blood Red - Redmate' and CABBAGE 'Hispi' into modules.

Pruning BRUGMANSIA, BOURGANVILLEA, PASSIFLORA and PLUMBAGO in the Conservatory.

Week 3

General
Winter pruned black, white and red CURRANTS and GOOSEBERRIES.

Forking well rotted Farm Yard Manure into the borders.

Pruning HYDRANGEA; PHOTINIA; GARRYA; LONICERA X purpusii; LONICERA - climbing; ARTEMISIA; SANTOLINA; CARYOPTERIS; LEYCESTERIA and LAVATERA

Glasshouse
Sown BRUSSELS SPROUT 'Maximus' into trays and CUCUMBER 'Bella' and 'Primatop' and 'Melonie' into 7cm (3") pots.

Potted TOMATO 'Tumbler'; Gardeners' Delight' and 'Alicante', PEPPER 'Hot Stuff'; 'Fenix'; 'World Beater'; 'Mini Belle'; 'Matador' and 'Inferno' into 7cm (3") pots.

Planted POTATOES 'Swift' and 'Foremost' with 4 of each variety going into a tub and put into the heated greenhouse. These will, hopefully, follow on from the hot bed.

Multi sown LEEK 'Firena' into modules.

Sown AUBERGINE 'Rosa Bianco' and 'Mohican' LETTUCE 'Sangria' and 'Lollo Rossa' and FRENCH MARIGOLD 'Safari Mixed'; Dainty Marietta' and 'Orange Boy' into trays.

Week 4

General
Pruned potted FUCHSIAS that are being overwintered and then potted them on.

Pruned autumn fruiting RASPBERRIES and tied in summer canes.

Put benches back out into the various gardens.

Allotment
Directly sown BROAD BEAN 'Dreadnaught'.

Spread sand on some areas to help improve the drainage.

Covered two plots with polythene to keep off the rain.

Elizabethan Vegetable Garden
Planted 1st early POTATO 'Swift' and 2nd early POTATO 'Edzell Blue' and covered the ground with thin polythene. This will heat up the ground and bring on the POTATOES so that they are even earlier. When the tops push up the polythene a small incision will be made to allow them to push through.

Parterre
Repaired individual bed cloches and placed over two beds to keep off the rain.

Glasshouse
CABBAGE 'Hispi', BRUSSELS SPROUT 'Maximus', TOMATO 'Summer Sweet'; 'Sungold' and 'Alicante', PARSLEY 'Moss Curled' and 'Plan Leaf' and CAPE GOOSEBERRY potted into 7cm (3") pots.

Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4

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