Trimming your trees

Early snowdrops will soon be out, and winter aconites with their green ruffs. Scented irises suddenly appear at the foot of a wall, mauve spears in a mass of leaves. If you planted February Gold narcissi in the autumn you can count on their opening just before the end of February. By then, miniature irises are going strong too.

Now is the time to take a look at the trees in your garden. Do they need pruning? I mean really serious re-shaping and cutting back; not the careful 'pruning to the best outward-facing' bud exercise that can pass many a happy hour among the roses (although re ceived wisdom now says that such care is a waste of time, they grow just as well if you attack them with a strimmer). Small trees planted by previous occu­piers have a habit of getting too big for their boots and anyway they may need discouraging if they're too near the house.

Trees in the next-door garden can some­times be a nuisance. Don't rush out and chop off every twig and branch that dares to cross your boundary; it might kill the tree altogether, which would be a pity. It's best to open negotiations with your neighbours first. Who knows, in really bad cases you might share a tree-surgeon's bill. Even if you're not considering sweep­ing alterations, time spent now in thinking is still a good investment. Plants that keep their leaves in winter, especially coloured leaves, earn their keep even if they never flower. Lambs' lugs (stachys) have  silvery velvet leaves. Some of the daisy family have delicate ferny grey foliage, and some varieties of ber­genia have round leaves which turn red in the .autumn and stay col­ourful through the winter. Any of them relieves the winter scene of sodden brown leaves and dead stalks.

I have kept to the last the news you have been waiting for. You may remember that in the last issue I introduced the idea of a plant exchange. How did it go? Well, to be honest it didn't, except for two ladies to whom I again express my thanks. It was an idea ahead of its time. Will you be feeling stronger next year?