WELCOME to a new season of gardening with The Whitehaven News , although I do appreciate at the moment you may not feel it’s the weather for gardening!

I must admit it’s been hard for myself to get out into the garden, and even when the weather has been dry the ground has just been too waterlogged to do anything with.

But despite this, I’m sure you will agree that although the weather has been wet, the temperature has been rather mild – so much so that in the sheltered part of my garden I have a few roses still trying to bloom which I have not had the chance to prune back.

Pruning is one of my biggest tasks at the moment as I have a number of shrubs and trees, including fruit trees and bushes, that need some attention. This also includes cutting back some of the late autumn perennials. It’s not that the plants will suffer from lack of cutting back, it’s more that the garden would look much tidier.

I’m sure you will also have noticed that a lot of spring-flowering bulbs are now bursting through the ground. Although it’s a great reminder that spring is on the way, by cutting back some of the old growth from my shrubs and border perennials I hope to see these newly-emerging bulbs make an even showier impact.

Often you see many spring bulbs hidden by larger and overgrown plants. At least I’m managing to cut back plant growth where I can access it from firm ground such as a footpath. Either way the ground needs to dry out more quickly (or we need a heavy frost or two) before I can cross the lawn areas to access those borders.

Although it might be rather challenging working outdoors in the garden at the moment, there are a few jobs that can be done inside.

It is now time to do indoor sowings of begonias, especially those tuber-forming varieties, including both the bedding and trailing forms. The seeds will need consistent warm temperatures and light: I have sown begonia seeds and have managed to germinate them on my kitchen window sill, but if you have an electric propagator then this would be better. You can now buy electric propagators designed to fit window sills.

They will take a few weeks to germinate then a few weeks more to become large enough to handle for pricking off into pots or trays. As developing seedlings, they seem to stand for a while and put more growth on as the daylight lengthens. If you read the back of begonia seed packets it generally says that some experience is required in germinating these seeds. This may be true and that they can be challenging to germinate, but there is something more rewarding when growing plants from seed.

Not only is it time to sow some flower seeds, it’s also time to sow many vegetable seeds. Those who grow exhibition onions and leeks will most likely have had these sown a few weeks ago. Again, many vegetable seeds can be sown to germinate on the windowsill – they will need a warm temperature, but less than for germinating begonias, and again they will also require light.

Simply place a few seeds in a pot of watered compost before sowing; cover the seeds lightly and place the pot in a clear plastic bag and place on the window sill of a warm room. I do most of my sowing on the kitchen window.

Most vegetable seeds will germinate within two to three weeks. Once germinated, remove the plastic bag and allow them to develop to become large enough to handle for pricking into trays or pots.

In addition to onions and leeks, many brassicas can be sown indoors now, such as cabbages and cauliflowers. Even garden peas and beans can be sown indoors, but given that they are large seeds (particularly the beans) my advice is to sow a few seeds in small pots which will be grown on for direct planting in early spring. In both cases the seedlings would be thinned out as they develop and not pricked off, to leave a single plant per pot for beans and around four to six seedlings per pot for peas.

Although early sowings of flowers or vegetables can germinate indoors quite readily, you need to remember that most seedlings will require some protection as they develop to become large enough plants for planting outdoors. So give some thought to where you can grow them on – this is where a greenhouse or cold frame can help, though a spare bedroom window can often accommodate a few plants.