Hobbies / Books   (Gardening, walking, books, films, theatre etc.)

Aye.

Last three years, even though we had mild Winters, we also had cold springs: Frost on May day in my neck of the woods.

Now is the time for all the indoor prep.

Chit spuds.

Start Toms and such like under glass, or alt frost protection. They'll be OK there for a month, and you can start to harden them off for outdoors come April, weather permitting, or even May should we have a frosty April.

Get seeds into heated propagator to germinate, and transfer to pots 2 - 3 weeks hence.

Ann-spam, if you want daffs......

You can plant the bulbs more or less any time you can get them, though some will rot if you plant them too early in the year.

To get spring blooms, the bulbs really need to be in the ground by September of the previous year. Too late, and they will still grow, though you may find many are blind (no blooms) and you then have another year to wait to get them.

I see most supermarkets and bargain stores offer bags of daff bulbs in August, and if unsold by Sept, discount to just a couple of quid.