A quick and easy way to get a ready-made supply of plants is to buy ‘plug’ plants.

These come in a variety of sizes from mini to jumbo but should all be treated in the same way. They don’t have the root capacity to be put straight into the ground so you will need to pot them up and let them grow on for a while. Equip yourself with some decent compost and clean plastic pots. If you have the mini plugs then use 9cm pots; if you have jumbo plugs then use one litre pots.

The plugs will come through the post and need to be dealt with as soon as possible. Open the packaging on receipt and see if they need watering. If you have bought mini plugs they will probably come in a plastic modular tray. The best way to get them out is not by pulling on the leaves – they are small and somewhat fragile. Better to use the blunt end of a pencil to push them up from beneath so you can get hold of them properly. Don’t bury them in the compost, just up to their necks, and firm around them. Label them and water. Put them somewhere bright but not in direct sun.

With plugs of annuals, you will not need to pot them on; simply let them grow to fill the pot they are in and then use them in outdoor containers and baskets. Plugs of perennials may need to be potted on into bigger pots and allowed to grow to a decent size before planting out. With some, this may mean they do not go into the ground until the late summer into autumn and if so, they will need to be fed and watered as they grow.

I ordered some plugs of an annual called angelonia. It makes a brilliant cut flower and is quite unusual. My excuse for not growing it from seed is I don’t have room to do so – it’s bad enough what with the sweetpeas, cosmos, cleome, didiscus and whatnot! They will be delivered in late February so I have time to buy some fresh compost and wash my old pots out.

Winter flowering heathers will be finishing by now so it is time to shear them right back. That way they will stay compact and more floriferous rather than becoming stringy. These plants are brilliant for bees that wander about on a sunny, warm winter’s day and they give good colour for months.

Those wonderfully scented but prickly mahonias will be finishing flowering as well – the scent makes me stop in my tracks and sniff the air! But they can get tall and stems become bare with a top-knot rosette. Do not be afraid to cut these down to the next circle of leaves. If you are growing dogwood shrubs (cornus) such as ‘Elegantissima’ and ‘Sibirica’ now is the time to start to think about cutting them right down. This is essentially what is called ‘stooling’ or if it were hazel, it would be ‘coppicing’, and leads to the formation of fresh new stems with vibrant colours.

If you are itching to get started on veg growing, and providing the soil conditions are right, you can direct sow broad beans, beetroot, early carrots, early peas, parsnips, radishes and spinach now. They will all benefit from some protection from heavy rain and frosts so a covering with cloches would be useful.