Christmas is coming and winter is here, the weather is terrible but a gardeners work is never done, As usual we try to give you a few ideas on what might need doing in your garden this week. Not everything in this article may apply to your garden- but there might be something, if not this week maybe next week

Flower Garden: Protect hellebore flowers from frost and snow if we get any, with cloches. Shorten tall buddleia stems by half if snow is likely, and finish pruning in the spring, Check Iris unguicularis regularly for buds, and cut for the house where they last longer than outdoors. Start gathering holly and other evergreens for indoor decorations, and keep cool in a dark shed. In cold gardens mulch nerines, schizostylis, galtonia and other borderline bulbs with leaves, straw or conifer trimmings. Continue taking hardwood cuttings this month whenever the soil is workable. or root in pots in a frame. Dig up well-rooted suckers of sumach, robinia, cotinus and other shrubs, and transplant as new plants. Check cotoneaster, pyracantha and other Rosaceae shrubs for fireblight die-back; prune to clean Wood, and disinfect tools.

Kitchen Garden: Loosen compacted soil in pathways between crops to help drain surface water. Cover outdoor figs with blankets, sacking or fleece, and insulate pots if container-grown. Where fresh stable manure is plentiful, make a hotbed to force early crops Protect autumn-sown peas and broad-beans with cloches, and earth up exposed plants for stability.

Lawns & Hedges: Wire in conifer and evergreen branches to prevent them being forced outwards by heavy snow. And if we get a cold spell it’s possible. Greenhouse Grow tender South African and Mediterranean heathers in good light, just above 7°C (45′F), and water with rainwater only. Tidy alpines under glass, removing dead and decaying leaves, and ventilate freely Sow dwarf hardy cyclamen seeds in pans of gritty compost, and keep in a cold frame. Continue bringing in bulbs in pots and bowls when they have made 5-8cm (2-3in) shoots. Bring inside small roses in pots for forcing; prune and keep well ventilated.

Water Garden: In hard weather keep part of the pond surface ice free for fish.

In General: Check new trees and shrubs after heavy frost and firm if they have been loosened in the ground