Some hints & tips

• I clear the lawn every other day or so of fallen apples, which seem to rot in no time and get caught up in the grass. I keep a bucket handy under the tree and when it is full, tip the contents on to the compost heap.
• Sweep up the leaves because, if left on the grass, they will eventually kill it. Not only is this job spiritually uplifting but it is also an exhilarating, calorie-burning exercise that greatly increases your heart rate, bringing a warm glow to winter cheeks - far cheaper than a personal trainer or joining a gym! Pack them into a pop-up container light enough to carry or drag to an E-shaped bay built for the purpose made from strong wooden posts to which is stapled wire netting. The first year, fill the left half of the E, the following year the right, during which time the first half rots down, eventually providing crumbly leaf mould.
• If you don't have the space to construct a wire pen, use empty compost bags turned inside out to reveal the more discreet black lining; when these are full, prick each sack with a fork and keep the top open, having made sure the contents are sufficiently damp. Stack them away behind the garage or a shed, and in approximately a year the contents will have decomposed.
• Clear away any dead leaves blown over the flowerbeds and under the shrubs as they provide a cosy winter snuggery for all things slimy.
• If you possess a deep fat fryer and need to change the oil, don't throw it away - pour it into a jar or old tin and use it to clean your tools and keep everything rust free and looking as good as new. Old cooking oil can be added to a bucket of sand: plunge mud-free tools several times into this gritty mixture, wipe them with a cloth and they will come up a treat.
• Cardboard boxes containing rose food and bone meal inevitably get wet bottoms and then collapse. To prevent this from happening, I save large (4 pint) plastic milk bottles. When they have been rinsed and dried thoroughly, decant the different products into the containers, being sure you label each bottle clearly with a waterproof marker.
• If, like my lucky friend Jan, you are given a cordless drill set for your birthday you can do as she does: take a 1 litre plastic milk bottle and make a series of tiny holes in the lid with the fine drill bit - it makes an excellent sprinkler.

Bryony Hill lives in Sussex and would be delighted to speak to WIs. Please contact her through email on This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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