VEGETABLE PATCH : The Last Quarter arrives this evening, making today a root day with real purpose. Garlic cloves planted now — 3 cm deep, tip up, 12 cm apart — will settle into cold soil and develop a strong root system before spring growth kicks in. Shallot bulbs can go in at soil level, 15 cm apart in rows 25 cm wide; a handful of compost worked into the base of each row gives them a gentle boost. If you have stored endive roots waiting in a corner, this is a fine moment to bring a fresh batch into the dark for forcing — a cool cellar or a covered crate works well. Chinese artichoke tubers can be harvested now for storage or the kitchen; their knobbly shapes keep well in slightly damp sand.
LANDSCAPING : Bare-root roses benefit from a last check before the hard frosts settle in — if the roots look dry, soak them in a bucket of water for an hour before planting or heeling in temporarily. A 5 to 8 cm mulch of well-rotted compost around snowdrop and crocus patches insulates the soil and feeds the bulbs from above without disturbing them. If you have heather in a border, a light top-dressing of ericaceous compost along the root zone now will carry it through to spring in good shape.