Spread a bulky mulch on top of the soil surface around the base of young apple trees to condition the soil, hold in moisture and suppress weeds. This will all help the tree to establish well. Use well

Sow courgette and squash seeds now so you’ll have seedlings ready to plant outside in early summer. Fill pots or large module trays with peat-free multi-purpose compost. Place one seed in each pot, ab

Prepare a free-draining, sunny and weed-free bed to grow broad beans. Rake in blood, fish and bonemeal fertiliser to give the plants a boost. Plant the seedlings in a row, 15-20cm apart. Dig a hole an

Add support to peonies that have, large, heavy flowers such as ‘Sarah Bernhardt’ and ‘Duchesse de Nemours’. Special tapered, cone-shaped supports for peonies are available and can be simply pushed int

There are some vegetables that thrive in the cold, but unless you aspire to self-sufficiency Tom Coward recommends caution when sowing very early in the year. “It’s a mistake, although we always do it

Position logs randomly around garden borders rather than in neat piles to recreate the way they fall naturally from trees in the wild. You could artfully arrange them around spring-flowering plants or