Snowdrops in abundance, daffodils blooming and the hedgerows starting to green up - the signs of spring are everywhere. Richard Orton reports on preparations for the new season at Lewis Cottage.

February may be a bleak month for many gardeners, but for Richard Orton it is a window of time to dream and plan. Here he reports on his hopes for this year and preparations for opening the Lewis Cottage garden to the public, which include building a viewing platform for a new pond. And in his top tips for February, he includes a simple growing project for little ones - to make a cress egg head. 

If your garden is looking messy at this time of year, don’t worry. The garden at Lewis Cottage is also a bit of a mess and Richard Orton confesses he likes it that way. In his latest update Richard describes his own regime for tidying and pruning in winter and urges us to make up our own rules.

At this time of year, as the days shorten and time spent out in the garden becomes increasingly precious, Richard Orton likes to pause and reflect on the gardening year at Lewis Cottage. His beautiful garden is regularly open to the public during the summer months, but in this exceptional year he has decided to open it during the winter as well, to enable those who are feeling isolated to enjoy the benefits of being outdoors with like minded people.

While many of us are wondering what to do with the apples in our gardens, at Lewis Cottage they are dealing with a bumper crop of some more unusual fruits - mulberries, figs, quinces and medlars. In the second of his blogs one of the creators of this special Mid Devon garden, Richard Orton, shares some ideas on how to use these fruits, a recipe for mulberry jelly and some tips on growing figs. He also shares his list of garden jobs for the autumn.