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 in Several the last of month. my containers How can I have stop cracked this from happening? A Choose containers – Tom White, labelled by “frost email. proof” not bubblewrap just “frost before resistant” adding and line compost them with and plants. The lining will absorb some of the pressure when the frozen compost expands, helping to prevent cracking.

Cut back overgrown beech hedges in

February, staggering the work over two years to give the hedge time to recover.

Q All the flowers on my clematis ‘Jackmanii’ are now high up. How do I persuade it to start flowering lower to the ground? – Sue Ballard, Elgin. A In spring, cut down your clematis to a pair of healthy buds about 12cm off the ground and it will throw up new flowering shoots. This sort of treatment works for all clematis that bloom from July through late summer.

Use a wire brush to remove moss from

between paving slabs.

Q I’ve just been given a Swiss cheese plant. How do I care for it? – Ben Wilson, Edinburgh.

A Place it in a bright room, but don’t let it sit in direct sunlight as this could scorch the leaves. Keep the compost moist and prepare to raise the height of your ceiling if necessary. In the wild, Monstera deliciosa can reachup to 30 metres.

Pick a few skimmia buds and bring

them indoors where they will open and scent a room.

Q You sometimes talk about planting bulbs “in the green”. What does this mean? - Kerry Laidlaw, Hamilton. A Bulbs in the green are those which have just flowered and still have their foliage. Some flowers, including snowdrops, seem to do better when planted at this stage than they do as dry bulbs.

Keep off grass during periods of frost to

prevent compacting the soil and damaging the sward.

Q My daffodils are coming through the soil. Should I feed them? – Mr. T. Marshall, Kemnay. A Daffodils appreciate scattering of blood, bone and fishmeal when in flower. Water this in if no rain is forecast.

Clean windows to allow as much light

as possible to reach houseplants.