when greenhouse plants go to rest . S Clapham . during the winter the summer-flowering greenhouse perennials are of course at rest , but this does not mean that they need no attention at all . many of them , in fact , can come to grief more readily at this time than in the summer , and with all of them a certain amount of care is necessary if they are to be not only alive in spring but in the best possible condition for re-starting into growth . perhaps the ones which are most liable to be neglected are those which die down completely , such as gloxinias , achimenes and tuberous begonias . those are often left in their pots and laid on their sides beneath the staging where they are very much out of sight , out of mind , and where any damage caused by slugs , wood-lice or mice is thus not readily noticed . it pays , therefore , to give these plants an occasional examination , and if any traces of these pests are seen , to put down some traps or bait straight away . with these quite dormant plants the temperature should be watched , too , for with gloxinias and achimenes particularly this should go no lower than 50 &amp;deg; , and if it does the plants should be put somewhere warmer immediately . begonia tubers , on the other hand , do not mind a slightly lower temperature than this , and with these the main danger is excessive dryness , which leads to shrivelling . if this occurs an occasional damping-over of the tubers will soon put matters right , but this should not be overdone and if there is any drip from the staging it is usually best to keep all these stored plants covered with , say , a piece of corrugated iron or asbestos sheeting . keep hydrangea buds plump . the hydrangea is another plant which is usually stored in an out-of-the-way place , and here again excessive dryness can cause trouble if the plants are neglected . it is a mistake to think that hydrangeas need no water at all during the winter months - those growing outside are kept moist enough ! - and as long as they are kept cool enough to prevent premature growth it is quite safe to give them just sufficient to keep the green bud at the tip of each stem nice and plump . these buds , by the way , should contain the dormant flower-shoot for next year , and if they become affected by mildew , which can easily happen if the roots are kept too dry , the plants will obviously not flower as they should , if indeed they flower at all . and as an additional safeguard against mildew it is advisable to dust the buds with flowers of sulphur . with pot-grown fuchsias almost complete dryness during the resting season does not seem to matter , but this season is normally a comparatively short one , and in a heated house it should be safe enough to start watering immediately after Christmas . even in a cold house a little watering at this time will do no harm as fuchsias are very nearly hardy , and this can , of course , be increased as the weather warms up . heliotropes , however , are a very different matter , and unless the greenhouse can be kept well above freezing point it is almost impossible to keep them through the winter . in a reasonably warm house , though , they should not be difficult to keep if they are placed in the warmest position possible and kept moist , or on the dry side if anything . rooted cuttings of heliotropes are usually much easier to keep than old plants , but here again water should be given very sparingly and the plants placed where they will get light and warmth . protect from cold weather . zonal pelargoniums , fortunately , are much less touchy , and even in a cold house they will often survive if kept very dry and given a little extra protection in really cold weather - a few sheets of newspaper laid over them will often save the roots if not the tops . in a heated house , however , more water is advisable , as if the plants are kept too dry , they tend to become so hard that the stems are slow to break in spring . but too much water at this time will produce soft , long growths that are no use for anything , and the best method is to give the plants just enough to enable them to hold their own without making too much growth . afterwards they should romp away in spring . this week in your garden . by Percy Thrower , M.D.H . flowers . we are now at the beginning of the planting season for trees , shrubs and roses . I like to get as much as possible of this planting done in November while the temperature of the soil is still fairly high , for this gives the roots a reasonable chance to get themselves established before bad weather sets in . no doubt many readers with new gardens will be considering the planting of hedges . privet is usually the first shrub that comes to mind but I would not recommend it despite the fact that it is quick in growth , hardy and , in most districts , evergreen . personally I would prefer beech which retains its beautiful golden-brown leaves in the winter or , in country districts , the hawthorn makes a fine hedge . but Cupressus lawsoniana and Thuja plicata make fine hedges , particularly where a screen of fair size is required . for small dividing hedges within the garden flowering shrubs such as escallonia , forsythia , cotoneaster or strong growing floribunda roses can be delightful . the preparation for the planting of trees , shrubs and roses should always be thorough because these are permanent plants which can not be disturbed once they are in . the site should be deeply dug with manure , garden compost or peat being worked into the soil . at the same time some bone meal can be sprinkled through the soil as it will assist in the formation of a good root system . if some of the herbaceous plants are to be lifted , divided and replanted , this work must either be done very soon or left over until February or March . it is not , in general , wise to move herbaceous plants in the middle of the winter . some shrubs are a little tender and need a certain amount of protection in exposed areas . this is true of some veronicas and also of the larger flowered escallonias . in northern and eastern districts the large flowered hydrangeas are also safer with some protection . I do not recommend covering such tender shrubs completely with polythene but polythene can be wrapped around them , the top being left open . better , however , in my view is protection with dry bracken or sacking , either of which can be held in place with canes and string . very good lawns can be made quickly from turf provided the turf itself is reasonably clean and free of weeds . this is a good time of year at which to lay turf . vegetables . no doubt there will be many readers with new gardens who just now are thinking of making a vegetable garden for the first time . the first essential is to fork out all perennial weeds , i.e weeds such as docks , dandelions , creeping buttercups , couch grass and bindweed which persist from year to year . all ground should then be dug at least to the full depth of a spade and left rough during the winter so that frost , wind and rain may break it up . most vegetables like a firm soil and if digging is left until the spring , it is often difficult to get the soil firm enough for the best results . new land turned over now should be in ideal condition for vegetables for next year . it is particularly important to dig heavy land in autumn because there is nothing better than frost and wind to break down the lumps of clay . just leave the clods as they are turned over , making no attempt to break them up , and then scatter basic slag over the surface at 4 to 6 oz per sq yd or give a similar dressing of hydrated lime . clear away the yellow leaves from around the lower parts of brussels sprout plants and put these on the compost heap . take care not to damage any healthy leaves as these are feeding the plants still and helping the sprouts to form . it is not too late to make a further sowing of lettuce in a frame . seedlings from earlier sowings should be examined from time to time and any decaying leaves removed . fruit . for fruit also this is the ideal planting season and work can continue at any time when the soil is in reasonable condition until the end of March . nevertheless I think autumn planting has much to commend it because the trees , bushes or canes get a longer period in which to establish themselves before commencing to grow in spring . fruit trees should always be purchased from a really reliable source because many of them need to be on the right kind of root stock and some are very liable to become infected with virus disease unless they are properly inspected . in most gardens there is some wall or fence on which a fruit tree can be trained and a very pleasant and profitable method this is of making good use of such a position . for a north wall I recommend a Morello cherry , for an east wall a plum or greengage and for a south or west-facing wall , a peach , nectarine or apricot . work in the greenhouse . at the moment the greenhouse is getting very congested with chrysanthemums , cinerarias , primulas , cyclamen , solanums , echeverias and on the shelves schizanthus , calceolarias and cuttings of the various bedding plants . it becomes quite a problem to know how to keep everything in good condition and it is more important than ever to use the ventilators as much as possible whenever outdoor conditions are favourable . what is essential is to maintain a free circulation of air around the plants and to keep the atmosphere reasonably dry . schizanthus and calceolarias need very careful watering at this time of the year . in particular avoid splashing water unnecessarily over the leaves and still more do not allow it to collect at the base of the leaves . as the plants fill their pots with roots move them on to larger sizes . I have a stock of coleus cuttings , four in each 3 1/2 in pot and all nicely rooted . these I shall now put on a shelf near the glass and leave them there for the winter . from these stock cuttings I shall take further cuttings in spring as I find that the spring-struck cuttings make finer plants than those rooted in autumn . take a look at begonia tubers in store and , if any show the slightest signs of decay , dust them with flowers of sulphur . bulbs in pots , boxes and bowls which have been kept in a cool dark place or have been plunged in sand or ashes for at least eight weeks , can now be brought out and put in a frame , but no artificial heat should be used yet . as fuchsias begin to drop their leaves the supply of water to them should be reduced until eventually they are kept almost dry during the winter . reliable battery operated garden tools . written and illustrated by A D Johnson . when the battery lawnmower was first introduced three years ago , and I expressed my enthusiasm for it , my friends nodded their heads sagely and expressed grave doubts about the prospect of having to renew the battery frequently at a cost of ten pounds odd . but I am still optimistic , for , after three seasons &apos; use my own battery is still holding its charge as well as it did when new . it has had no special attention , but I do adhere rigidly to three maxims - to charge it immediately after use every time ; to keep it topped up with distilled water ; and not to let it become frozen in the winter . those enthusiasts for quiet effortless electric mowing who have already bought mains-operated machines may feel a little sad at having to live with their cable , so I was delighted to hear that Webbs are now willing to undertake conversion of mains machines to battery operation . 