You'll need to trim back any sections of your hardy perennials that are dying, and use the space to see if you can thin the beds out by dividing and replanting them to give them room for next spring. This will also help you plan your beds and borders for the next major growing season.

Prune bushes, particularly roses and your evergreen shrubs and bushes. You can continue adding compost to the evergreens if you wish to.

Pull up the last of your root vegetables and prune the any apple and pear trees, focusing on the shape and also thinning the larger branches to allow air movement within the tree.

Clear the last of the fallen leaves from the garden and tidy up all of the edges.

January is a month of maintenance, protection and planning; you won't be able to do a lot of planting but you can prepare your garden for spring.

Decide which plots and beds you will be using for which purposes, and take the opportunity to clean them up; clear the weeds, reshape the edges and begin to dig over the soil if it's not hardened by cold. Make sure that you don't over-compact the soil by weeding by laying planks down and working from those.

Lift any large pots onto stones or bricks to keep them away from the cold, wet ground. You can begin to plant sweet peas and geraniums in pots in greenhouses, and take root cuttings.

Leave food out for birds and other non-hibernating animals.

Divide your attention equally between the greenhouse and the garden this month; February is time to finish your spring preparation and planning.

Make sure that you've thoroughly readied your beds; everything should be weeded and dug over, and you should have dug any organic matter and additional nutrients into the soil. Once this is done, protect the beds with cloches or sheeting.

Deadhead all of your winter-flowering plants and prune back any perennials. Prune apple and pear trees – maintain the shapes, prune above strong buds and get rid of any branches that are growing back towards the trunk. Hard pruning of shrubs will encourage strong summer growth.

In the greenhouse, start to pot tomatoes and cucumbers. Lilies can also be potted in preparation for spring.