Welcome to my potting shed! This is the column where I’ll share all my gardening hints and tips – and I’ll try to answer any queries you may have.

Q Should I chop the flowers off my lavender now or wait until spring? – Mrs Mairie Dawson, Aberdeen.

A As you live in a cold part of the country, wait until spring as the spent flowers will provide a little frost protection. Cut back old stems to the first vigorous bud as soon as you see growth restarting in March.

Replace summer bedding in baskets and tubs with spring bulbs and coldseason flowers.

Q Why did the leaves of some of my rasps turn yellow this year? – W. Clark, Alexandria.

A This is usually magnesium deficiency. Mulch the plants well over the winter to restore nutrients and treat with Epsom salts in the growing season.

If you have a greenhouse or cold frame, sow Mizuna, Pak Choy and other oriental greens for late salads.

Q Can you recommend plants for a silver-themed border? The site is sunny and free draining. – Anne Edwards, Anstruther.

A Lavender is the obvious choice and Stachys Byzantine ‘Silver Carpet’ makes excellent ground cover. Artemisia ‘Powys Castle’ has silver foliage and one of the best is the evergreen spurge, Euphorbia ‘Glacier Blue’.

Take cuttings of salvias now. Salvias are not reliably hardy in cold spells but they are otherwise excellent garden plants.

Q I want to plant a quince tree, but my wife says it will never ripen here. – Jack Bailey, by email.

A Contact a specialist fruit grower for advice on the hardiest variety then plant this in a sheltered, sunny spot and you should get a crop. Spring frosts that damage the blossom are the real hazard, so covering the tree with fleece early in the season would help.

Leave a few sunflowers standing once the petals fall to provide food for blue tits and finches.

Q Sometimes when I am out in the garden I hear very high-pitched squeaks. I don’t think it is mice. – G. Anderson, Carlisle.

A It sounds as if you’ve got shrews. These are sometimes easier to hear than to spot but if you look around you might find a nest under a pile of stones or in a bird box. Shrews eat larvae and slugs, so are useful residents in the garden.

Clear the pond of leaves before they fall to the bottom, rot down and upset the nutrient balance of the water.