Put out food and fresh water for birds and make sure containers are kept clean for hygiene reasons. After frost, melt any ice that has formed with a little boiling water.

Snow-covered plants may look beautiful but snow can be heavy so if there is snowfall remove it from plants where it is likely to cause damage such as on evergreens and conifers.

Now is a good time to sort seed packets and plan ahead for what to sow. Throw away out-of-date seed packets (as the seeds will be less likely to germinate) making a list of what to replace and browse gardening books and catalogues for inspiration.

Although the main Fungi season finishes at the end of Autumn there are still some to be seen this month, such as examples of Jelly fungi, including Yellow stag’s horn (Catocera viscosa), found growing on stumps and logs of Conifers and Jelly ear/Wood ear (Auricularia auricula-judae), usually found on Elder trees as well as Bracket fungi such as Turkey tail (Trametes versiclor) that can be seen growing in layers on tree stumps, fallen tree trunks and dead branches.

Look out for a few signs of Spring. Tiny green leaves will be appearing such as those of the Lesser celandine (Ficaria verna), Clover (Trifolium) and Cleavers (Galium aparine). The dangling white flowers of Snowdrops (Galanthus), one of the earliest flowering plants to bloom, will be a welcome sight at this time of year.

Trees will still be displaying their bare-branch silhouettes, but on closer inspection it will be possible to see leaf buds starting to appear.