Job of the week

Forcing narcissi

Enjoy an early scent of spring by forcing narcissi. The bulbs are in the shops from late-August and if planted immediately you can have them in flower by Christmas.
Takes just 10 minutes a day

Flowers

  • Make earwig traps with straw in upturned pots on canes
  • Prune pyracantha and train shoots to supports
  • Prepare soil to plant evergreen shrubs

Fruit & veg

  • Prune old fruited stems of raspberries down to soil level
  • Pinch out tops of main shoots on outdoor tomato plants
  • Prune trained forms of fruit trees

Greenhouse

  • Take cuttings from tender perennials and bedding plants
  • Sow a few pots of hardy annuals
  • Shade delicate plants to avoid sun scorch on hot days

Around the garden

  • Remove suckers from roses, shrubs and trees
  • Trim box hedging and topiary
  • Cut laurel hedges