Traditionally a cold month, December is the time for digging, preparation and manuring/feeding. If manuring, make sure that it is not fresh. Horse manure needs to have been weathered for several months before it goes onto a garden.

The cold damp months coming are those that encourage moss in grass and some bugs to bury themselves in your looked after plants.

Don't allow dead leaves to stay on the lawn and treat fruit trees against winter pests. Cut back any grass growing towards the trunks of trees on your lawn. The picture shows a midlands cooking apple tree, photographed in mid-December, just after the last leaves have dropped. The remaining apples ought not to be left on but they do make a meal for birds. The tree has yet to be pruned.

It is best to get the essential jobs for December done early, then you will have time to relax later.