VEGETABLE PATCH : Before midday, a root day invites you to get hands in the soil. Plant chitted potato tubers 10 cm deep, 35 cm apart, rows 70 cm — choose a well-loosened bed and work in a shovelful of compost per metre before closing the drill. Shallot bulbs can go in at the same time: set them at soil level, 15 cm apart, rows 25 cm, pressing each bulb gently so just the tip shows. Jerusalem artichoke tubers are worth planting now too if you have a spare corner: 10 cm deep, 50 cm apart — they need little care and will reward you with a generous autumn harvest. In heavy soils, ridge the rows slightly to help drainage and warm the soil faster.
LANDSCAPING : After the sign change at midday, a flower day takes over — shift your focus to flowering plants and ornamentals. A good moment to settle in rose bare-root plants if you still have some waiting, or to work compost around established clumps of peony, keeping buds just 3 cm below the surface. Wisteria trained on a wall can receive a light tidy now before the growing season accelerates — shorten the lateral shoots left from the August pruning to two or three buds. Primroses planted from pots will fill gaps between perennials with cheerful colour through the rest of spring.