A friend recently summed January up perfectly when he said, “I’m thinking of going to the bookies to see what odds they’ll give me on January ever ending.” It has felt like two months instead of one, but the end is in sight, we’ll be able to turn the calendar page to February next week. And of course, Imbolc, or St. Brigid's Day, traditionally celebrates the first stirrings of spring on February 1-2.

As well as some early spring bulbs ‘making a fabulous effort’ at this time of year, a client has a beautiful winter-flowering clematis hugging a trellis at the moment. It’s stunning and is also providing great cover for the birds visiting an adjacent bird feeder. The most common, and easiest-to-grow winter flowering clematis are varieties of the Mediterranean native ‘Clematis cirrhosa’, which includes 'Freckles', 'Wisley Cream' and 'Jingle Bells'. They are all hardy enough to survive (and even thrive) in our winters and will cheerfully flower at some point between November and February. I highly recommend making room for one in your garden – just for the beautiful blooms and hope it brings at this time of year.

Another client also has a beautiful carpet of winter aconites showing off in a wooded part of his garden. I think any flowers at this time of year just lift the spirits and it’s easier than you (probably) think to get colour on several levels and places in the garden right now.

January has seen me rely heavily on my heated waistcoat and hand warmer. If you are an active all-year-round outdoorser (or live in a very old and draughty cottage on the side of a mountain) then they are game changers. I was very sceptical of both initially, thinking they were both just one more ‘gimmick’ and something else to have to recharge regularly, but I am now on my third winter with both and am still ‘excited’ about them. The waistcoat is great either under a coat in the harsher conditions or as a bit of extra ‘oomph’ whilst waiting for the woodburner to reach temperature – or sitting at the computer for any length of time. There are lots of choices now but I have to say mine was the lower end of the price range and I haven’t felt the need to upgrade. My hand warmer was a gift and is just perfect for reawakening my fingers after wearing wet gardening gloves or just for a bit of luxury in my pocket whilst walking.

You can also get heated scarves – which I’ve been tempted by not yet succumbed to, and heated socks. The heated socks I wore years ago when I had a motorbike were bulky with a large ‘battery pack’ (but still worth the hassle), whereas now they are very ‘sleek’ and a lot easier to wear. I haven’t got any of these (yet) either as I still get a bit grumpy about having too many things to recharge but it’s nice to know they are an option.

This winter my feet have been kept nice and warm in the cold, wet weather by a pair of Muck Boot wellingtons, which are insulated, have a toe protector (for my dry stone walling), and are non-slip. I wear them with a pair of Genuine British Army ECW Arctic Socks (available from Army Surplus stores) and they’ve proved a perfect pairing. It’s only taken me around forty-five winters to get it right.

I’ll leave you with the wise words of novelist Sinclair Lewis, “Winter is not just a season, it’s more of an occupation.”