Winter? Won't be long before spring starts showing its face

In between showers and cold spells there is still time to keep on top of maintenance and healthy routine tasks in preparation for next year. Doing it now will not only enhance blooms and colour next year, it might also save you unnecessary expenditure on new plants.
What puts a lot of people off gardening is knowing when to prune certain plants. Many a time have I stood over a plant, secateurs in hand like a nervous bomb disposal expert quaking in my muddy boots.
Many woody shrubs and trees go dormant when it starts to get colder. Pruning now encourages new growth, reduces the risk of disease and keeps the shape you want. Keep tools sharp and reduce the risk of cross infection by sterilising between plants. A decent pair of secateurs and loppers will serve you well for years with the addition of a sharpening stone.
Roses cause confusion for some reason. Anything dead, cut away and then reduce each healthy stem by a third, cutting just above a bud. You will be able to see the new growth and where it was cut back last year, indicating what worked last year. Make sure you deposit a mulch of well rotted horse manure on them and they’re all tucked up for winter.
Many people have an unruly apple tree that fruits less each year it’s untouched. Pruning will stimulate fruit production. When the leaves have dropped, and with sharp loppers cut or saw the thicker branches at a 45 degree angle so that the water drips away and doesn't rot the branch. All dead, diseased or crossing branches can be removed. Try and get light into the canopy. Any thin vertical branches will be water shoots and can be removed.
If you have hydrangeas, you could cut them just below the flower head now or leave them until March. Many gardeners swear by not touching them until March but I've done both and the results have been the same. Hydrangeas are such robust and reliable plants so either seems to be acceptable to the flower itself.

On the Plot

It’s the time of year to be wearing wellies on the plot whilst ferrying manure or home made compost around. Covering most beds will improve the soil structure and provide enough food for next year's bounty. If you have been making leaf mould then mix that in and all this will create space for more composting of green waste throughout next season.
Covering the beds is an autumn ritual. Where weeds such as dock and dandelions have dropped anchor then placing a layer of cardboard underneath the manure will at least disrupt their march to plot domination.
If you want you can put the veg plot to bed once its covered, but why would you do that when there is so much more enjoyment, jobs and plants to grow until warmer weather appears.
On the whole layering up the plot with manure is a good thing although a note of caution is always necessary. Some plants can react to manure that isn't well rotted by appearing ‘burnt’ on the leaves. Having said this, it won’t kill them so subscribes to the gardening philosophy of ‘good enough’ rather than producing vegetables for the show bench. Im not the type of vegetable grower who gets obsessed about producing perfect specimens. On the whole I d rather have flavour over form.
Even though the clocks go back, it is only eight weeks until the days lengthen again. Pottering in the garden gives us a real connection to what’s really happening in our immediate environment. Whilst feeling some anxiety at the onset of winter, its worth remembering that they are much milder than we expect and once December is over things speed up rapidly and indicators of spring are everywhere.