Credit: Andrew Crowley
Potatoes
Chit your potatoes now. Place them in a single layer somewhere cool, light and frost-free where they can start to sprout, and so hopefully start growing more quickly once they are planted.
Peaches
Peaches start to flower when there are few pollinators around to finish the job. Step in to the breach with a soft paintbrush and “paint” the insides of each flower, spreading the pollen. Make a note to plant crocuses and other early flowerers as further lures.
Meadow
Consider planting a stretch of meadow. Pictorial Meadows (pictorialmeadows.co.uk) mixes seed of natives with other colourful plants. I like its “Pastel” annual mix – Ammi majus, cornflower, cosmos and Shirley poppies.