| Clear up remaining leaves. |
| After a heavy snowfall, shake snow off shrubs and conifers. |
| Take root cuttings for perennials. |
| Melt (do not break!) a patch of ice on frozen fish-ponds. Use a rubber ball to keep the hole clear and allow harmful gases to escape. |
| A good time to plan for new garden features. |
| If the ground isn’t frozen or too wet, plant deciduous shrubs, trees and roses. |
| Lift and divide overcrowded snowdrops after flowering. |
| Late-summer and early-autumn flowering clematis shrubs can be cut back hard to a pair of buds 15-30cm from the ground. |
| Aerate lawns and apply top dressing if waterlogged. |
| Remove dead wood from trees and shrubs. |
| Fork over borders and apply mulch. |
| Plant herbaceous perennials. |
| Lift and divide congested clumps of perennials. |
| Feed all shrubs and roses. |
| A good time to introduce new pond plants. Frogs will be spawning. |
| Give the lawn its first cut, keeping blades high. Deal with moss by applying lawn sand to affected areas. |
| Sow seed or lay turf for new lawns. |
| Spray shrubs to control diseases and pests. |
| A good time to construct new ponds and spring-clean established ones. |
| Divide and replant water plants. |
| Feed and weed established lawns. |
| Spray roses with fungicide and apply a mulch of compost. |
| Feed borders with general fertiliser. |
| Start trimming hedges. |
| Plant oxygenating plants in shallow areas of ponds to allow fish to spawn. |
| Plant out summer bedding, containers and hanging basket when all danger of frost has passed. |
| Prune spring-flowering shrubs and hedges after flowering. |
| Tie in new shoots on climbers. |
| Keep watch for pests and diseases. |
| A good time to plant water-lilies. |
| Lift and dry off tulip bulbs, and store for autumn planting. |
| Take cuttings of shrubs, choosing semi-ripe shoots. |
| Remove suckers from rose bushes by wrenching from the root. |
| Water containers twice a day if necessary. |
| In hot weather, spray ponds with a hosepipe to increase oxygen content and help spawning fish. |
| Plant autumn-flowering bulbs. |
| Continue with deadheading, feeding and pest control. |
| Spray roses against mildew and blackspot. |
| Continue to trim hedges and pruning shrubs after flowering. |
| Sow hardy annuals for next year. |
| Clear borders and containers of summer bedding plants, and plant up for winter and spring interest. |
| Cut down herbaceous plants to soil level after flowering. |
| Trim hedges one final time. |
| Rake, spike, top-dress and feed the lawn. |
| Sow new lawns. |
| Lift, clean and store gladioli and dahlia tubers after first frosts. |
| Brush worm-casts from the lawn, and mow one final time. |
| A good time to turf new lawns. |
| Protect ponds from falling leaves and continue to remove decaying vegetation. |
| Prune rambling roses. |
| Prune deciduous trees and hedges. |
| Plant tulip bulbs this month (at least 15cm deep). |
| Collect leaves to rot down into mulch. |
| Cut down remaining border plants, and divide and replant any overcrowded clumps. |
| Fork over borders to relieve compaction. |
| Plant deciduous trees, shrubs, climbers, roses and new hedges. |
| Put straw round tender plants to protect from frost. |
| Aerate lawn and apply top dressing. |
| Dig over beds and borders, and apply compost or manure in preparation for spring planting. |
| Keep ponds from freezing (see January). |