In the garden this week: It's time to sow sprouts, plus easy-peasy pruning

And sow to Brussels You may have only just finished ­forcing the kids to eat last year's brussels sprouts crop, but it's time to start sowing this year's. Oh yes, they want a good, long growing season if they are to produce next year's Christmas Day leftovers. Consider 'Petit Posy' brassicas from Thompson & Morgan . These are a cross between kale and brussels sprouts, and are really very pretty with a mild, sweet taste. Prudent pruning The least mysterious of the year's pruning tasks can now be ­performed. Buddleia, spiraea, ­caryopteris and late-flowering ­clematis will all perform best if pruned in late winter, and all you have to do is hack down their stems. The shrubs will produce much ­bigger flowers this way. Clematis is the only one you need to be slightly careful with. Leave behind a good few inches of old growth and protect new growth fiercely. ­