Even in the depths of winter there are flowering shrubs and spring bulbs to brighten every morning. The hardy deciduous shrub winter sweet (Chimonanthus praecox) has a delightful scent and blooms well when grown against a warm wall. Cut a few branches for indoor display and add a few blooms of the Christmas rose (Helleborus niger) for a good contrast. In the garden, winter aconites, dwarf iris and snowdrops will be adding colour to an otherwise dull month.

THE GARDEN

GARDEN Gardeners who need plenty of plants for their garden find the cheapest method is to grow from seed. This month you should be sowing seed of salpiglossis, French and African marigolds, salvia, rudbeckia, penstemon, geranium, lobelia, bedding dahlias, annual carnations, begonia and alyssum.

It seems however that the number of packets of seed sold each year is slowly reducing as more and more gardeners switch to buying ready-grown plug plants. Certainly the professional growers who produce plug plants and mini-plants have taken away all the need for correct temperatures for germination and the time and dexterity needed for pricking out tiny seedlings. The skill needed by a gardener to grow plug plants to maturity is minimal and that means more and more people should be getting the benefits of this new technique.

To get these tiny treasures growing fast give them extra room and root space in a tip-top compost of your choice. For quickest growth and biggest plants choose a real potting compost that is so rich in nutrients it advises you not to sow seeds in it. For maximum flowering potential use Levington Potting Compost, Miracle-Gro 'Plant & Gro' or the new peat-reduced compost called 'Natures Way' Hanging Basket and Container compost.

Plug plants are supplied in a protective pack that looks like a miniature greenhouse. The clear top allows light to enter and creates a moist atmosphere around the foliage. The plug tray sits in a water-holding gel, which supplies moisture to the roots of the plugs. Plugs will benefit from early transplanting, if however there is a delay make sure the compost in the cells is not allowed to dry out.

You will need plant pots, containers or pouches: In fact almost any container will do as long as it can hold a reasonable amount of compost and is free draining. For individual specimen plants, pot on into 7 - 9cm (3-4in) pots, one plant per pot.

Use the best quality growing compost you can afford. Levington Potting Compost will ensure your plants get off to a good start. To give your ornamental plants built-in protection against aphids and black vine weevil larvae choose a product with an in-built insecticide such as Levington Outdoor Container Compost with Insect Control. A slow release fertiliser such as Miracle-Gro Controlled Release Plant Food or Osmocote can also be added to the compost, which will benefit the plants automatically throughout the summer.

Here's what to do:

• Open the greenhouse pack and remove the plug tray from the gel. Water the plug tray and leave to drain for ½ hour.
• Fill your chosen container with Levington Potting Compost and firm lightly.
• Push the blunt end of a pencil through the hole in the base of each cell and the super plug will emerge with its root system intact.
• Make a hole in the compost with the pencil or a dibber and plant the plug. Set the plant so that the top of the plug is level with the compost, gently firm in each plant.
• Carefully water in the plants. Ensure the plants do not dry out but avoid over wet conditions. Place the container in a warm, well-lit place where the plants can establish. Protect from frost at all times.

Out in the garden protect the emerging flowering heads of the Christmas rose (Helleborus niger) to ensure the best display possible. After cutting back the leaves to reveal emerging flower stems, lay down a mulch at soil level of Levington Mini Chipped Forest bark to reduce mud splashing on the flowers. Sprinkle SlugClear Mini Pellets around the emerging heads to prevent damage. With the rain protection of the leaves removed, some people cover the flower heads with a plain sheet of glass supported by wire stems.

Frustratingly the normal varieties of Christmas rose rarely flower when their name suggests they should. However we see on the web that there is a form grown by Carol Klein who runs Glebe Cottage Plants in Devon that is truly early and is claimed will come into flower for Christmas. Called 'Higham's Variety' it has 25cm flower stems and promises to be a rare collector's item.

topical tip

Protect winter flowering pansies and hardy primulas from slug damage with a sprinkling of SlugClear Mini Pellets.

HOUSEPLANTS

Flowering house plants are vital to home decoration in the depths of winter. One of the most popular is the African violet (Saintpaulia) as it is free-flowering and easy to look after.

There are many different colours and forms - some with variety names so that you can keep track of your collection. Whatever your choice, don't drop water on the leaves or they may scorch and see that you remember to move your tropical plants away from the window on cold winter nights.

The most common mistake at this time of the year is to leave these delicate plants behind drawn curtains on a frosty night. When the central heating shuts down the cold through the window can take temperatures on the window sill down past the African violet minimum of 50oF (10oC) with disastrous results.

So, what other winter lessons can we learn, apart form moving the plants well away from the window on cold nights? To give of their best African violets need to be kept in a bright place, preferably on the sill of a south facing window and only water them when they are obviously dry. Keeping the compost permanently soggy will cause root rot and the plant will surely die. Use tepid water and water from below, allowing the plant to take up all the drink it needs. After about ten minutes tip away any water remaining in the tray beneath.

This is also the time to restart feeding on a regular basis. There are many different plant foods available depending how often you prefer to feed your pot plants - from every watering to every two months. Add a few drops of Liquid Miracle-Gro Houseplant Food to the water if you prefer to feed every time you water. Alternatively, Miracle-Gro have recently introduced two long-lasting plant food spikes - one for foliage houseplants and another for flowering pot plants. Miracle-Gro Flowering Houseplant Plant Food Spikes are red and feed continuously for up to 60 days. These are the ones to encourage your African violets to flower more profusely this year. The other spikes, called Miracle-Gro Foliar Houseplant Plant Food Spikes are green and are formulated to feed foliage plants such as rubber plants, palms, swiss cheese plants and the like.

FRUIT AND VEGETABLES

Continue to dig leeks, parsnips and pick Brussels sprouts as needed.

The stems of spring cabbages, sprouts and purple sprouting broccoli should be firmed if they have been loosened by frosts. These winter greens may benefit from a quick-acting high nitrogen feed to encourage strong growth. Traditionalists will sprinkle the soil with nitrate of soda, but modern gardeners will simply dilute a measure of Miracle-Gro Lawn Food and water this over the leaves and around the roots for even quicker results.

Prepare established asparagus beds for this year's cropping. Clear all weeds by either back-breaking hand pulling or effortlessly with the power of Weedol. During the short days of winter it will take a couple of weeks for the weeds to turn brown. When this has happened rake off the top inch of soil, feed with Osmocote granules or Miracle-Gro Controlled release Plant Food and a dressing of well rotted garden compost or Levington Soil Conditioner and Mulch. Replace the top soil and leave in ridges to encourage good long stems of asparagus.

Plant shallots and garlic in sunny well drained beds that have been raked to a fine tilth. Ideally use a position that was manured for a previous crop rather than one which has been freshly supplemented with organic matter.

On the other hand early peas need a soil that contains plenty of fresh manure. For a May or June crop sow an early, round variety such as Pilot, Meteor or Feltham First and cover with cloches for best survival rate.

Complete winter wash sprays of apples and pears before any of the buds begin to swell. These tar oil sprays will kill insects' eggs on dormant fruit trees and roses.

Another February job is the protection of peach tree foliage against leaf curl. Without protection. the leaves often develop pink blisters that gradually turn white and lead to early leaf fall. This crippling disease overwinters on the stems but can be controlled with a spray of Murphy Traditional Copper Fungicide early in spring when the leaves begin to unfurl.

When hard frosts are forecast, protect the blossom on wall trained fruit trees by draping with double thickness net curtains or hessian. Remove the material when the sun shines so that the wall can absorb the available heat ready to protect the plant during the next cold night.

topical tip

Feed apples, pears and plums with Osmocote or Miracle-Gro Controlled Release Plant Food granules and work into the top inch of soil. Applied early, the nutrients will be released throughout the summer for good cropping and steady feeding.

IN THE GREENHOUSE

To obtain an early crop of broad beans sow seed of The Sutton or other quick maturing variety in individual pots of Levington Multi-Purpose Compost. The protection offered by a greenhouse will ensure better germination and stronger growth than if sown outside at this time of the year.

Line up seed potatoes in a seed tray or egg box with 'rose' end upwards to encourage the sprouting of the stems. Kept in a frost-free place with plenty of light, the shoots will be short and strong - just what's required when planting out later in the year.

Early onion seedlings raised under glass should be pricked out in boxes of Levington Multi-Purpose Compost. Space each seedling 7 cm (3 inches) apart to give them plenty of room to develop.

topical tip

Box up dahlia tubers in damp peat to start them into growth. When new shoots appear, remove these cuttings and place them around the edge of a pot of Levington Seed & Cutting Compost. Cover with a clear polythene bag and keep warm until well rooted.

FUCHSIAS

Not surprisingly, modern fuchsias are now one of Britain's most popular plants. Modern breeding has given us a choice of colours from white to mauve through red, pink and violet with many mixed combinations of these colours too. There are trailing varieties for baskets and window boxes, bush shaped specimens for patio pots and upright ones that can be grown to produce an imposing standard form.

Modern hybrids are not difficult to grow. Most will require protection from frosts during the winter, but most gardeners are willing to give up windowsill space to ensure their favourites survive the winter.

Now is a good time to increase your collection at reasonable cost. Garden centres will be selling small rooted cuttings of scores of different varieties that can be grown on for summer flowering. They will need to be potted on into slightly bigger pots. The cautious will use Levington Outdoor Container Compost with Insect Control which incorporates Intercept insecticide to give long-term protection against black vine weevil larvae, greenfly and blackfly and useful control of whitefly. As most fuchsia growers will agree - any protection against whitefly is highly welcome. Keep your plants in a warm, light position and water as necessary. After six weeks of rapid growth, pot on into a slightly larger pot and start to pinch out growing tips for a bushy plant. When the compost has run out of nutrients start to feed with either Miracle-Gro Plant Food or Levington Tomorite for strong growth and plenty of flowers.

topical tip

Any mature fuchsia plants that have been overwintered successfully can be encouraged into growth with regular mistings of plain water over the stems and a dilute feed of Miracle-Gro Plant Food. Cut off some of these new shoots to make cuttings and dip the ends into a hormone rooting powder for faster and healthy root growth. Once rooted, re-pot into Levington Outdoor Container Compost with Insect Control.