I think even the most dedicated gardener may be despairing with the amount of rain we have had.

Plants can withstand a fair amount of waterlogging before they will actually die but if you suffer from poor drainage or have heavy clay soil in your garden it’s worth choosing plants that are more tolerant of wet conditions when planning your planting scheme.

To aid drainage you can also dig in some organic matter as this helps to break up the clay into smaller crumbs, one barrow load per square meter will make a difference.

Shrubs for wet soils:

Hydrangea macrophylla; cornus alba; weigela; kerria japonica

Perennials for wet soils:

Astilbe; hosta; iris ensata AGM; actaea

Trees for wet soils:

Betula pendula AGM, silver birch; sambuca nigra, elder; sorbus aucuparia; crateagus laevigata

What a load of rhubarb

January and healthy eating is high on the agenda, I know rhubarb may not be as trendy as super berries but it is packed with minerals and vitamins and other nutrients that help keep our bodies healthy and without much attention provides tasty stalks when little else is ready in the garden.

Now is the time to force it, which basically means you will get earlier, sweeter stems that don’t need peeling simply by covering the plants with a container or large pot that excludes light as soon as it begins to show signs of growth.

The heating effect and lack of light cause the rhubarb to ripen and it will be ready to eat within eight weeks. If you don’t like the idea of a dustbin you can also treat yourself to a pretty terracotta rhubarb forcer.

Tips: Only force the stems of established plants, at least two years old. Avoid forcing a crown two years in a row, avoid this problem by having two plants! Did you know the leaves of rhubarb are poisonous? I didn’t! So remember to remove them before eating!