Growing plants from seed is one of the most satisfying elements of gardening and yet many people are scared to give it a go, or give up too quickly after disappointing initial results. There are some fundamental rules which must be followed, but if you stick to them success is almost guaranteed.

Seed must be fresh; buy just before you sow and don’t use old seed that has been hanging around for years! Always use a specific seed sowing compost, never use potting compost which is too high in nutrients which can inhibit germination. Again, the compost should be fresh, or at least stored in a dry position; heavy wet old compost always gives poor results.

Use new, or thoroughly washed plastic seed trays (wooden trays are difficult to sterilize completely) . Fill the seed trays half full with compost and then level and firm LIGHTLY! with a flat object to produce an even surface. A riddle can be used to sieve the compost, producing a really fine seed bed.

The most common mistake when sowing seed is to sow too thickly; the result is overcrowding which leads to weak leggy seedlings and “damping off”, a disease which can spread like lightening through the whole tray. Small seed is the most difficult to sow and some seeds are like dust! Begonia semperflorens (Bedding begonia) is one of the smallest at 70,000seeds per gram, followed by Lobelia at 25,000 seeds per gram. Tap the packet very gently, at the same time move it over the surface of the compost so that it does not end up all in one spot. The second most common mistake is to cover with too much compost. In fact vermiculite (a lighweight volcanic particle) is much better than compost for covering as it doesn’t form a “cap” which seedlings can struggle to break through, and it also allows some light to reach the seed which is essential for some seeds. Having sown your seed, fill a fine (but not too fine!) riddle with vermiculite and gently tap the riddle over the seed tray. As soon as the seeds have disappeared from sight STOP! Water the seed tray GENTLY using a can with a fine rose attachment,taking care not to flood or puddle the surface and place in a suitable temperature (check back of seed packet). Very tiny seeds e.g. Begonias are best left uncovered but misting with water and/or covering with a pane of glass to prevent dehydration will be required. As soon as seedlings are large enough to handle they can then be pricked out into trays or pots to grow on.

After the excesses of Christmas many people turn to dieting, jogging or going to the gym to try and lose those extra pounds, but lets face it, its not much fun and at the end of the day you may have lost weight but achieved nothing else. Wouldn’t it be better to find something that will keep you fit and give you something to show at the end of it for all your hard work? With all the economic doom and gloom, plus the unmissable Olympics and Jubilee celebrations it looks like the “staycation” is going to be a popular option again in 2012, so its a great time to get your garden looking great for the Summer.

Gardening projects can take many forms. A vegetable garden, orchard or greenhouse maybe? All of these will require plenty of energetic digging and clearing, burning up the calories, and costing you nothing! OK, you may have to fork out for plants and seeds but that can wait until March when the bank balance has had chance to recover, and there will eventually be a payback when you harvest your own beautiful produce in the Summer.

How about a new patio for your outdoor entertaining? This is probably only an option for DIY enthusiasts but will involve plenty of exercise and will potentially add value to your property. Environmental projects are becoming increasingly popular and a great way of enticing the kids away from their games consoles! Digging out a pond, making a water feature, creating a bird feeding station, or planting a wildflower meadow are just a few ideas.

Its also a great time to take a look at your garden, and tackle that “slow growing” conifer that you bought 20 years ago and is now 15ft high and starving your border from light and moisture. Make the most of the mild weather, get out into your garden and get stuck in!

Good soil is a precious and wonderful thing but needs to be managed correctly to keep it in good shape. Just as poor soils can be improved by good husbandry, good soils can be be ruined by bad practice. Organic matter is the key to soil fertility and it comes in different forms. Garden compost, leaf mould, well rotted farmyard manure, seaweed, crop debris and bagged compost from the Garden Centre are all good examples and should be added to your soil at every available opportunity. Organic matter will improve the water retention of thin sandy or chalky soils and help breakdown heavy clay soils into something more manageable. It also encourages earthworms which digest it and in the process create fissures and channels in the soil improving aeration and drainage.

Soil contains a network of channels called capillaries through which water flows and the action of frost, freezing and thawing, expands these capillaries, forcing the soil particles apart, and breaking up the soil. This is why farmers plough their fields and gardeners dig their vegetable patches over in Autumn, exposing as much soil to the action of frost as possible. The benefits of frost can easily be lost however by attempting to cultivate soil too early in the year when it is still cold and wet. Far better to wait and lose a week or two in cropping time than to damage your soil. Mechanical rotivation is a great help on a big plot but, again, only attempt it when the soil is not sticky otherwise damage will occur. Frequent rotivation, particularly with shallow soils, can lead to the formation of a “pan”, or hard impenetrable layer 8″ or so below the surface. This can impede drainage and restrict root growth. Farmers use a “subsoiler” to break up the pan, and serious (and fit!) gardeners use a technique known as double digging, in which not only the top spade full of soil is turned over, but also another spade depth below, taking care not to mix the subsoil with the topsoil.

Finally, mulching soil with bark or organic matter will help retain moisture, keep weeds down and improve worm activity.

Witch hazels (Hamamelis) are much underused shrubs and are probably better known for the astringent lotion used to dab on cuts and bruises than for their beautiful display of flowers in the coldest, darkest days of Winter. In fact they brighten up both ends of the year with a fiery display of autumnal leaf colour, which can range from soft butter yellow to vivid orange and scarlet.
The most commonly grown variety is Hamamelis mollis “Pallida” with a compact habit and a prolific display of sweetly scented sulphur yellow spidery flowers. Growing to just 1m in height it is probably the smallest variety available.

Most other varieties are hybrids between H. mollis and H. japonica and are usually labelled as Hamamelis x intermedia. Most of these are more vigorous and can reach 3m in 10years. H. x intermedia “Arnold Promise” has an award of garden merit and has bright yellow, richly scented flowers and outstanding orange/red autumn leaf colour. “Westerstede” is another excellent golden yellow variety, and “Orange Beauty” has unusual burnt orange flowers. “Firecracker” has bright orange red flowers and “Diane” has lightly scented red flowers, followed by red autumn leaf colour.

Witch hazels prefer an acid soil, well drained but water retentive in Summer. They tolerate shade but flower better in a bright open position. Dig in plenty of compost at planting and mulch with compost, bark or leaf mould to retain moisture in Summer. Little in the way of pruning is required, but can be carried out after flowering if your plant is getting too big. They can be underplanted with other early flowering plants such as snowdrops, primroses and hellebores for a display that will lift the spirits long after the Christmas glow has worn off!

If you’re very lucky you may receive an orchid for Christmas. These beautiful exotic flowers are becoming more and more popular. Why? Well, obviously they are gorgeous, but also surprisingly easy to grow. Most flowers last a few days before withering and dropping off, but orchid blooms just keep looking stunning for weeks, and sometimes months. The most popular orchid is the Phalaenopsis (Moth orchid), an elegant plant with graceful sprays of flowers in shades of white, pink and lilac which just seem to float above the foliagehis is the perfect plant for modern centrally heated homes, preferring a temperature of 65 degrees F or more, good light levels, but tolerant of less well lit situations for short periods. When the flowers have finished cut back the flowering stem by about two thirds cutting just above a “node” (a little bump on the stem” and often more flower buds will appear from the node.

Cymbidium orchids are also popular and are the best choice for a cooler room. They prefer a temperature of 50 to 60 degrees F and like to be laced outside in Summer for a resting period which helps initiate the formation of new flower spikes. They have tall grass like foliage and magnificent spikes of exotic blooms which are often used singly as buttonholes by florists.

Other stunning orchids which are availabe include Dendrobium(Bamboo orchid), Miltonia (Pansy orchid), Oncidium (Dancing Lady) and Cambria (Odontoglossum hybrid). Although different types require different conditions there are some general guidelines which apply to most of them. Overwatering is the biggest cause of failure; only water if the plant is dry and allow excess water to drain away and doesn’t collect in the bottom of your pot cover. Don’t overfeed them; only feed when actively growing. Provide additional humidity in dry rooms by sitting on pebbles which can be kept moist, but never allow the leaves to remain wet over night. Place in a bright position, but avoid hot direct sunshine which can scorch the leaves. And don’t cut off those strange looking roots which creep over the side of the pot, they need them!

Colour can be hard to come by in the Winter garden and is often derived from foliage, bark and seed heads rather than from flowers. However there is a handful of brave souls which choose to flower in the depths of Winter. For example, Jasminum nudiflorum, produces its bright butter yellow flowers over several months from late Autumn through to Spring. It is unfussy and will grow happily against a wall or fence facing any direction. Mahonias are especially valuable, with clusters of primrose yellow spikelets from November to January according to the variety grown. It also benefits from handsome evergreen foliage, adored by flower arrangers. Sarcococca or “Christmas Box” is a small evergreen lime tolerant shrub with clusters of tiny but fragrant creamy white flowers which open in late Winter. Viburnum x bodnantense is a beautiful hybrid raised at Bodnant Gardens in 1935 with a strong upright habit with clusters of pale pink sweetly fragrant flowers adorning the naked branches. Prunus subhirtella “Autumnalis” is a Winter flowering cherry blossom and can grow up to 7m in height. Flowering often begins as early as November and can continue intermittently until March. Flowers are small, semi double and very pale pink. Garrya elliptica is a very handsome evergreen shrub with olive green foliage and long greyish green catkins during January and February. Witchhazels (Hamamelis sp.) are always eager to please as soon as Christmas is out of the way with curious tufts of saffron like flowers in shades of yellow, orange and red. Winter flowering heathers (Erica carnea and Erica x darleyensis) flower over many months from November until April and provide an invaluable source of nectar for bees at a time when flowers are scarce. Helleborus niger, the Christmas Rose is one of several Winter flowering hellebores, and the diminutive Cyclamen coum, typically with tiny cerise flowers, will produce a carpet of flowers and foliage under trees in January.

We’re all guilty of it. In the mad Christmas rush grabbing anything in the 3 for 2 gift offer regardless of suitability. If you’re giving gifts to keen gardeners, however, there are some great products available which might actually be of some use!

Secateurs, gloves, dibbers and nice terracotta pots are fool proof; you just can’t have too many! But sometimes its nice to receive a really good quality item which you might not normally buy for yourself. Burgon and Ball, based in Sheffield, make high quality stainless steel hand tools including some unusual items, such as asparagus knives, potato harvesting scoops and topiary shears. Also in their range is an excellent kneeler with memory foam technology.

Packets of seed are excellent for posting, lightweight and virtually unbreakable!Wild flowers, vegetables, herbs and seeds for kids are always popular. Bird feeders, bird baths, nesting boxes and bird stations all make lovely gifts which give so much pleasure, or why not make up a bird food hamper by filling a basket or pot with a variety of bird seed, nuts and fat balls.

Plants of course are always welcome but after last year’s severe weather it may be wise to steer clear of those beautiful but slightly tender evergreens such as Camellias and Hellebores which are best planted in Spring. Fortunately there are lots of other bone hardy plants to choose from which make great gifts, including fruit trees which will be remembered years after other gifts have been discarded. The ultra dwarf “Terrace” fruits are suitable for even the smallest garden and include semi-exotic types such as peaches, nectarines, apricots and the brand new dwarf plum “Gold Dust”.For something a little different how about a quince, or a fig or an olive?

Magnolias, Witchhazels and Rhododendrons look exciting at this type of year with their flower buds clearly visible, or how about a young bay tree which can be decorated with ribbons and baubles? And for the gardener who has everything you could try Grevillea “Red Salento”, described as a flowering Christmas tree. It is in fact an Australasian shrub which grows in the classic shape of a Christmas tree but with red parrot bill flowers in Winter, and hardy to -8 degrees C.

To grow your own mistletoe you will need two things: 1. a suitable host tree for it to grow on (mistletoe is a parasitic plant). 2. patience! Growth is exceedingly slow, just a few inches in the first four years. Subsequently however it explodes into growth and can be harvested heavily every year, regrowing in time for next Christmas. The favourite host tree for mistletoe is apple but it can be grown successfully on other trees such poplars, limes, false acacias and hawthorn. Being parasitic mistletoe can reduce the yield potential of fruit trees, so it may be advantageous to use a non productive or ornamental tree as host.

The best time to “sow” mistletoe seed is in February and March. Ideally fresh berries should be obtained either from a local source or online from specialist suppliers. Alternatively berries can be stored in a cool shed from Christmas and rehydrated by soaking in water for a few hours. Squeeze the seeds out of the berries and apply to a suitable young branch 2 to 6cm in diameter, using the sticky goo from inside the berry to stick them onto the branch. The failure rate is quite high so try to apply at least 20 seeds at each location, and label them so you can remember where they are when you prune your tree!.The seeds germinate into tiny green scales by April and then most of the growth for the next 4 years occurs within the branch, after which time growth is rapid. Mistletoe is dioecious (separate male and female plants) so several plants will be required for successful pollination and subsequent berry production.

Much of our mistleoe is imported from France, and British mistletoe is increasingly scarce as old unproductive orchards are replaced with more intensive plantations. Back gardens could become an important sanctuary for this much loved Christmas symbol, so why not give it a try!

The edible quince (Cydonia oblonga) is a small deciduous thornless tree with an irregular shape, growing up to 12ft in height and width. It is a distant relative of the ornamental quince (Chaenomeles sp.), commonly known as Japonica, which is a thorny wall shrub with small apple blossom like flowers, followed by hard irregular green inedible fruits. It is more closely related to the pear to which the fruit bears some ressemblance, and is often used as a rootstock for pears to control their vigour and reduce their ultimate height. Quince trees are valuable as ornamental trees, with attractive white or pale pink flowers, similar to the native dog rose, set against dark green oval leaves with downy white undersides and pale grey bark.

The fruits are apple or pear shaped and when fully ripe are golden yellow. The flavour is quite sharp and acidic and the texture rather gritty which is why they are not normally used as a dessert fruit.
However, when cooked, quinces can be transformed into a beautiful clear orange jelly or marmalade, delicious with cheese, pates and cold meats, and they can also be added to apple pies, providing a subtle aromatic complimentary flavour.

Quinces are perfectly hardy in the UK but, as with grape vines, a warm sheltered site is preferred to give the fruits the best chance of ripening fully. Their are two varieties in common cultivation; “Meech’s Prolific” has pear shaped fruits 5-7 inches long with a bright golden colour and excellent flavour. “Vranja” was introduced from Serbia where it was widely cultivated and has very fragrant clear golden fruits with fine flavour. Fruiting occurs mainly on short spurs which develop along the length of the branches and to encourage the formation of these spurs quinces should be pruned in Winter by pruning back the main branches by half the previous summer’s growth. Cut back any other side shoots which are overcrowding and competing with the main branches to 2 or 3 buds. After 4 years little pruning is required apart from the removal of any excess growth which is overcrowding the main framework which should develop into a goblet shape. Leave the fruits to ripen on the tree for as long as possible, usually mid October or November. Once harvested store in a cool dark place on a tray without touching each other for about a month before they are ready for use.

Poinsettias have become a vibrant part of our home decorations at Christmas time but don’t leave it too late if you’re planning to buy one this year as there could be a shortage. The severe cold weather last year resulted in astronomical heating bills for growers, coupled with reduced demand because people were unable to get out to Garden Centres because of the snow and ice. Many growers lost money and have reduced or ceased production as a result. Growing conditions this year have been much more favourable; the high light levels have resulted in very bushy, brightly coloured plants and the mild weather will have been a great relief to growers, who, like the rest of us are facing massive increases in the cost of oil and gas.

If possible always try and buy a British grown plant. This is not a matter of patriotism, it is because plants are fresher and better quality. Poinsettias do not travel well, they resent being stored for any length of time in the dark, or exposed to cold draughts. They hate being handled and dislike being encased in a plastic sleeve with no air circulation for long periods of time. If you can, buy your plant direct from the grower, or from a retail outlet where they are displayed unsleeved in a warm area with good natural light levels. Avoid plants which are showing any signs of wilting, or have yellowing leaves at the base of the plant. Also check to ensure the coloured bracts are unblemished. “Scratching” occurs in plants which have been roughly handled, caused by the leaking of the milky sap at the point of damage. The tiny gold “pips” in the centre of the bracts (cyathia) should also look fresh and intact. Plants which are under stress, or have been forced too early will often lose these pips which are in fact the true flower. In the home these pips will eventually fall off, but the beautifully coloured bracts will continue to give enjoyment for months.