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and tunnels, and moved all pots out of direct sunlight.Even a bit of temporary shade is worth it, as it's made a huge difference to the plants. In the greenhouse the brick pathway was regularly dampened down with a can of water. Damping down may be an old

with fresh cranberries and Christmas nuts (unsalted, of course).It all looks rather festive out there. As well as feeding the birds, I leave out bowls of water for them to bathe in and drink. Bird baths are essential for birds at this time of year

I couldn't be happier. The sun is shining and it almost feels as if spring is here.  Just last week there was standing water in the bottom few feet of one of my plots; the soil was completely submerged and saturated. Conditions were so wet

suggest putting some water out for them now, and letting them eat some of your fruit, too!

and removing algae from between the panes, using a combination of strong water jets and a slim piece of plastic cut from a margarine tub. Then, having finally cleared the last of the tomatoes from the bed, I removed any lurking traces of grey mould from

.Making cress heads is great fun, too. Don't throw the shells from boiled eggs away - instead, wash them thoroughly, dry and fill with cotton wool, then water well and draw a face on the egg before topping the moist cotton wool off with mustard and cress seed

to look a little perkier  - but it didn’t put on any new growth. Eventually, with a little TLC, and extra watering, my cherished magnolia did eventually grow up and outwards. Eventually, every spring it bore (and still bears) masses of beautiful flowers

dashing around watering my newly planted garlic and onion sets, opening cloches and rolling back the vent covers on my new brassica frame.I recently planted overwintering brassicas, so I rigged up some temporary shading for them, using old netting from

the garlic crop (and I cannot help myself at the moment due to the wet weather), I have to confess to feeling rather pleased with myself. Despite the clay soil and the sky-high water levels it is in pretty good shape. The foliage is starting to yellow

I was producing a crop of water chestnuts).I'm also intending to start a small asparagus bed. Asparagus is a fascinating vegetable. Until a couple of years ago I heartily disliked it, but now I've fallen for its charms I'm going to attempt to grow