Trees from seed: I've been amazed how easy - and quick it can be to raise your own trees and shrubs from seed. If you can collect fresh seed, it will usually germinate readily; you may have to be more patient with bought seed.

With rowans and other fleshy berries you should leave them on the tree until the colour is fully developed and they are starting to go soft. If you think the birds may beat you to it, cover a few with a net bag.

There may be more than one seed per berry and the flesh often contains germination inhibitors, so extract and wash the seed before sowing in multi-purpose compost. Stand the pots in a cool, sheltered spot and expect seedlings in spring.

Species roses, unlike named varieties, will also come true from seed. Try purply-blue-leafed Rosa rubrifolia, R. roxburgii with huge, yellow, pineapple-scented hips or pretty, pink-flowered R.carolina which makes a good hedge.

Open up fresh rose hips and sow the seed right away. Cover the surface with grit to inhibit algae and liverworts as germination will take several months.

Tough woody seed coats may need special treatment to start breaking them down to allow in moisture. Hazelnuts for example benefit from storing outdoors overwinter in a lidded plastic box of damp sand, then sow them in pots outdoors.

With hawthorns, punch holes in the base of a tin for drainage and layer the berries with moist compost.

Leave outside for two winters, then sow in early spring.

Jobs of the week Take heel cuttings - short new shoots with a bit of older wood attached - from woody herbs such as rosemary and lavender Sow green manures on bare beds or mulch with manure or garden compost Remove shading from greenhouses, ready for the arrival of tender plants from outdoors.

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