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for the weather to work on over winter. I'm sure it helps to let the frost penetrate your soil where you can.I have been worrying about the birds. My bird bath was covered by a 15cm deep layer of snow when I woke up on Thursday morning, so it was important to get

Man cannot live by bread alone, and neither can birds! When it comes to garden bird care, food is not the only thing I consider on these cold winter mornings.Waking up to a thick layer of frost to scrape off the car windscreen before I could leave

to provide a warm duvet to protect them from frost, but I didn't. Milder winters have been on my side, heavy penetrating frosts haven't struck, and my tubers have survived! Dahlias are so easy to raise from seed, producing plants for just a few pence instead

being far hardier.Another trick when growing them in the garden is to plant deeply – perhaps 20cm or more down – so that they’ll get through winter without being frozen. You can often do the same with dahlias and gladioli, perhaps with just a mulch over

. Is it really worth propagating what are relatively cheap bedding plants, and keeping these protected over winter to plant up next summer? I'm always in two minds. Pelargoniums, fuchsias and a host of others really need to be propagated now, too, if cuttings

, so this year I've invested in a few dwarf cyclamen. These are really indoor pot plants, but are quite at home in a patio pot for a couple of months. Now these are not hardy outdoor varieties, so could be killed off by cold and damp winter weather

, in particular, is a stunning sight in winter gardens. A single plant spreads nicely each year, and mine now forms a bold clump covered with flowers. These cry out to be touched, begging for an individual flower to be turned over to reveal its hidden glory. Who

petals. I think it's called 'St Ewe', but I wouldn't put money on it. Yes, so delicate for winter, but the warm weather had coaxed it out of hibernation to cheer me up.It's a reminder that spring is just around the corner, but don't assume things can

Flowers are not the only attraction in winter gardens. Biennial honesty (Lunaria annua) is a good example of a plant that keeps delivering after its flowers have passed. Once the petals have fallen, enchanting disc-shaped seed-pods are formed

the weight of the glorious flower heads as they open.No, cool but light conditions are what paper-white narcissi need. My unheated greenhouse bench, which has been almost empty over winter, has been a perfect home for the developing daffodils.As the paper