I AM doing the rounds of the New Year sales looking for a new washing machine. It has to be a robust one, one that can cope with the daily washing of mud-soaked, soil-encrusted and compost-enriched clothes.

It will have to be able to deal with heavy coats and thick jeans, and wash all memory of sweat out of boot-encased socks. It will have to have a short cycle for when I have forgotten to put a load on until late in the day.

I just get through so many clothes during a working week, and in winter, as I wrap up against the wind, rain and cold, this can easily double. Most people have a coat that is hidden away in the corner of the kitchen, cloakroom or garage that is dedicated as the 'garden coat'. Traditionally, this should be a green waxed jacket. I am not too sure that I like the smell that comes with them, but they do keep the worst of the bad weather out, usually have an array of interesting pockets and warm up very quickly.

I did once have a waxed jacket. It was far too good to wear out in the garden, so I reserved it for visiting show gardens. It was stolen from my car when thieves smashed a window to remove my radio. Much worse though, they also whipped my working coat, which, although much cheaper and shabbier, was a far more devastating loss to me (along with that of a ball of garden twine; I wonder how much that sells for on the underground market).

I had tried and tested many types of coats in order to find just the right one for using outdoors in the garden. For general work, I found a reversible fleece extremely good. One side is made of a shower proof material, and the other the usual warm fluffy fibre. It keeps warm, and can tolerate a bit of rain. More importantly, you can roll around in the mud and one quick wash removes all the grime. The one that I have now has a large 'kangaroo' pocket at the front, which not only houses my hands on cold days, but can hold a shed full of tools.

In the deepest, coldest days of winter I swap this for my favourite jacket. This is the good old donkey jacket. It is incredibly warm, and makes you feel like a real hard grafter. I searched all over for mine, and had given up finding one. It was a strange twist of fate that brought me one. I fell through a greenhouse window at work and one of our Kirklevington volunteers, like a gentleman, whipped off his shirt and stemmed the flow of blood. I wrote a letter to the prison outlining the importance of his quick actions. He received a commendation and a successful parole appeal off the back of it. In return, he gave me a donkey jacket that he had been given a decade ago through his place of employment, but had never worn. I wear it every winter while I am out in the garden, and am reminded that good deeds can bring rewards.

MR and Mrs Pearson from Durham visited a garden in Scotland that had a beautiful display of rhododendrons early last spring, and would like to recreate something similar in their own garden. They have one very healthy rhododendron bush themselves, and wondered if it would be feasible and cheaper to sow the seed from that one rather than splashing out on young plants.

IT is actually quite easy to raise rhododendron plants from seed. They do not need 'chilling' or stratification, but can be sown as soon as they are ripe, from late autumn through to February.

Sow them directly onto the surface of moist seed compost. The compost must be kept damp (covering with a sheet of glass, polythene or plastic bag will suffice), but watch out for any sign of damping off.

Once germinated, the seedlings can be grown outside in pots, or in situ out in the garden. During the growing period, water with an all-purpose ericaceous feed at half the manufacturer's dose.

Rhododendrons can also be propagated from semi-ripe cuttings taken in autumn, and by root and air layering. It may be worth having a go at several methods, and you are more likely to end up with a number of successful results.

JOBS THIS WEEK

l Cover bare soil

Put a sheet of polythene on soil in the vegetable patch to warm it up. This will give any seeds or young plants a head start on other, non-prepared, areas. It will also help to keep the weeds down, or at least weaken them.

l Tidy under roses

Clear up any fallen leaves from under rose bushes and standards. This maintains the air flow around the plant, and helps to prevent diseases such as black spot. Make sure you don't put the leaves on the compost heap, but burn them.

l Check trees

Check newly-planted trees, shrubs and roses for wind rock and frost heave. If any are showing signs of coming loose, firm them back in immediately.

POSTSCRIPT

For more horticultural chat, tune into 'Ask about Gardening' every Sunday on BBC Radio Cleveland 95FM from 12-2pm with Brigid Press and Tim Ellingford.

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