Crufts is over and it’s time to come out of hibernation and get on with all those jobs you (well, I) have been putting off.  The big problem is where to start.  There is so much to do and not enough hours in the day (or in my case, back) to do them all at once.  I injured my back whilst training Anya (too much bending down) and so for six weeks couldn’t bend at all.  I am therefore taking things very slowly at the moment.

So how do I decide what to concentrate on?  Well, as often happens, BBC Gardener’s World gave me the cues this weekend.  My miscanthus are now cut down (and the brunnera next to one of them also got tidied).  These were outside the front door and the dogs knew I was out there even though they couldn’t see me.  I felt bad that they couldn’t join me as I gardened today, but there will be others days when the back garden gets its attention.

The clematis have also had a serious hair cut.  None of mine flower before June, so they all need this treatment if I want an abundance of flowers like this Clematis Niobe.  I wish I could claim credit for this wonderful picture, but I can’t.  It was taken by the Amateur Gardening photographer who has kindly let me have some of the shots that the magazine didn’t use.  In the weeks and months to come, I will make use of more of his pictures.

I have started pruning the roses.  The ones at the front are still very young plants and I only have very thin growths to play with.  The roses in the back are another matter and so have left them for another day.

Now that I am spending more time in the garden more and more plants are reminding me that they need more attention too.  It is just a matter of prioritising the jobs and slowly getting them done.  It is a good thing that it is only a week now to the change in hour and then I will be able to do some gardening when I get home from work too.

One last thought – don’t worry if, like me, you didn’t manage to get too much tidying up done last autumn – the birds are very grateful to you for providing nesting material.  That said, they are almost finished with this process and you can feel free to tidy up what they didn’t need.