Weekend work: Time to plant trees and shrubs

WHAT TO DO

Guy Fawkes was traditionally the start of the lifting season in the days before containerisation, when all plants were grown in the open ground. November is still a good month to plant trees and shrubs, if the weather remains dry.

You can plant fruit trees and bushes this month too: apples, pears, blackcurrants, gooseberries and raspberry canes. Where fruit trees are grafted on to a rootstock, as they usually are, make sure that the join, which is fairly obvious, remains above ground.

Sow an early row of broad beans, using a variety suitable for autumn sowing such as 'The Sutton (Marshalls £2.45). Beans sown now should be producing a useful crop by June. Spread netting or some other material over the row to deter birds and mice from taking the seed.

WHAT TO SEE

Whichford Pottery's annual sale starts next Friday, which is all the excuse you need to take a day out and go up to Shipston-on-Stour in Warwickshire. There is always room for another pot in your life, especially if it's a low, shallow one in which you can plant crocus for spring; 01608 684416, whichfordpottery.com