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It's always been my ritual, in the first week of March, to start the long-awaited pruning of overwintered herb shrubs and trees. However, a word of warning for those who live in the north - the long range forecast is for another cold snap, possibly

to integrate some 'planned' piles of logs and prunings at the back of borders for these creatures, but they often have their own preferences for sheds and sheltered corners.The untidy gardener in me can use all those piles of autumn leaves and debris around

the trip in my tiny motor - but I thought it would pick up. And it would have if I'd treated it well; planting it with plenty of organic matter and bone meal, pruning off the dead, diseased and damaged wood, and watering it in the dry summer last year

. Prune back any damaged roots, dig a decent hole and add some good compost.I will not be ordering either this (which I have christened Rosa 'Euggghh') or this (which I now call R. 'Letitia Dean on Strictly Come Dancing' - because it is too pink

.However, this is not taking full advantage of the adaptability of this plant; it is a shrub that thrives on pruning. You hack a bit off and it will come back at you with ten new shoots. As a result it is easy to shape and can be used as a very effective architectural plant

are full of pictures of me gardening, or sometimes just my hands pruning, sowing, picking and nurturing.My local photographer Tim Sandall has been a faithful friend for many years, joining me to take pictures month in and month out, regardless

I've had another thought about small trees. For a more formal look you should consider the classic topiary trees - a short list would include yews, box, beech, limes and holm oaks. All of them are terribly amenable and happy to be chopped and pruned

black mulberry at Loseley Park in Surrey that was apparently planted by Elizabeth I). The trees respond well to pruning and make a wonderful addition to any medium-sized garden.If you make jam from your mulberries you might wish to try an interesting

then you can assume that I've made a ghastly mistake and am trying to hide the outcome. If nothing else, the prunings make good compost.If you want to see what my garden looked like a month ago then tune in to Gardeners' World on BBC2 this Friday (1 August