WE ARE almost at the end of the year and much of the garden is slowly sinking into its winter slumber. Mild spells will bring forth the occasional flower, but for the most part the summer bloomers won’t make another appearance until next year.

Despite the apparent demise of the garden, there are plenty of jobs to be done, from simple tidying and sweeping to planting bare-root fruit bushes and checking out plants suitable for Christmas decorations.

Many herbaceous perennials are looking sorry for themselves in the garden at the moment and, unless they are going to provide some winter interest with attractive seed heads or clusters of dried flowers, they can be cut back. If the garden looks dreadfully bare afterwards, it is a good idea to put in one or two evergreen perennials or small shrubs such as euphorbia or hellebore. These two plant families are invaluable to the garden in winter and spring, providing interesting evergreen foliage and early flowers that herald the arrival of spring.

Not all euphorbias and hellebores are evergreen, check the label before purchase.

Two that are easily available are Euphorbia Humpty Dumpty, which grows into a mound of stems covered in soft green leaves topped with outrageously coloured yellow-green flowers, and Helleborus argutifolius, with light green serrated leaves and loose clusters of pale green flowers sometimes as early as January.

Summer annuals can also be removed; some, such as lobelia and nasturtium, may still be hanging on, but a sharp frost or sudden drop in temperature will see them off.

Lobelia is tougher and in a warmer climate would stay in flower throughout the year. It is in fact a tender perennial as are many of the plants we grow here as summer bedding.

Nasturtiums are annual plants that grow rapidly from seed; climbing varieties are able to cover a large area in a very short space of time.

I used a new variety this year. Nasturtium Cobra has been delightful, with large dark foliage and flowers in hues of rich red and orange. The long stems followed the edge of the bed with little encouragement; they just needed a little coaxing to stop a total takeover of the small vegetable bed they have been grown in.

Now the leaves are yellowing and the flowers are fading. Cold will soon turn the stems to mush and it will be time for their removal. All is not lost, however; they have already deposited little packages of magic hiding in the soil until the sun tempts them into growth next year.

While outside tidying, it is also worth clearing away leaves that have fallen on to evergreen plants and bare soil. Whilst it’s good not to be too tidy in the garden, because dead foliage and twigs provide cover for small insects and food for worms who drag leaves down into the soil, diseased leaves can be a problem.

The disease can linger in the garden from year to year so get rid of anything that looks suspicious.

Weekend catch-up

IT IS just about the last date for planting spring bulbs. Tulips and varieties of late-flowering daffodils should still flower next spring after a December planting, although it is probably too late for the very early daffs, some of which come into flower as early as February.

There might be a few bargains to be had in garden centres and nurseries with spring bulbs being sold off cheap, as the shelves are filled with poinsettias and other seasonal plants.

If tempted by daffodils, check the flowering period on the packet to make sure it is from April to stand the best chance of getting a good spring show.

Gardening TV and radio

Tomorrow.

8am, BBC Radio Humberside, The Great Outdoors. With Blair Jacobs and Doug Stewart.

9am, BBC Radio Leeds, Tim Crowther with Joe Maiden.

2pm, BBC Radio 4, Gardeners’ Question Time. Today the programme is from Edinburgh where Chris Beardshaw, Bob Flowerdew, Bubby Guinness and chairman Eric Robson are guests of the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society. There is also a tour of the city’s Royal Botanic Garden and the gardening weather forecast at 2.40pm. (Repeated from Friday).

Friday.

3pm, BBC Radio 4, Gardeners’ Question Time. Matthew Biggs, Bob Flowerdew, Bunny Guinness and chairman Eric Robson help gardeners from Wallasey in Merseyside. There is also a trip to Stanley Park in Liverpool which is undergoing restoration and the first of a two-part examination by Matthew Wilson of classic garden literature. The gardening weather forecast is at 3.40pm. (Repeated on Sunday).

Saturday, December 12.

7am, BBC Radio York, Julia Booth. Presenter Julia Booth and gardening expert Nigel help out with listeners horticultural problems in their weekly plant surgery. Telephone number: 01904 641 641