If you like Mexican food, why not have a go at growing some chilli plants? One of my favourite varieties is ‘Twilight’, which can be sown in the late winter or early spring and has masses of small, pointed, multicoloured fruits from July. Fill a seed tray with moist seed compost, scatter the seeds thinly on top, cover with ¼in of compost and place in a heated propagator at 21C. Once the seedlings are large enough to handle, pot them individually in 3in containers and keep in a warm greenhouse or on a well-lit windowsill. The plants should be transferred to 6in containers in the late spring: mist, water and feed the plants regularly, especially when the flowers and fruits start to appear.

Late-flowering (Group 3) clematis, such as ‘Etoile Violette’ and ‘Abundance’, produce flowers on the current season’s growth, so now is the time to start pruning them hard back. Begin by cutting all the previous year’s stems to a pair of strong buds held 12in-15in from ground level, then give the plants a feed. Afterwards, spread a thick mulch of garden compost around the base.

Basil seeds can also be started now. Sow them thinly in a seed tray, cover with a fine sprinkling of vermiculite and place in a propagator (next to the chilli seeds, if you’re growing them too). When the basil seedlings have germinated, each should be transferred to a 3in pot and left in a warm greenhouse. The plants can be potted on again and kept under cover for the spring and summer, or planted 12in apart in the vegetable garden when the frosts have passed.

If canes of summer-fruiting raspberries, such as ‘Glen Moy’ and ‘Glen Ample’, have grown well above the top wire of their support system, they should be pruned back now. For best results, cut them to one or two buds above the wire.

51 glorious garden websites

Times Online's gardening guru opens her address book to share her top pick of gardening websites

Related Internet Links

• A ten step guide for novice gardeners

• The gardening year planner - what to do, when

• Guides for vegetable growers

Background

• A gardener's guide to healing herbs and flowers

• Fruit bushes: what to grow and how to get a good crop

• Plant it now: a beginner's guide to snowdrops

• Neil Wormald’s week: a potted guide to growing chillies

• A guide to making a great patio garden

Background

• A year in the garden: tasks for every season

• How to start a vegetable garden

• Twenty vegetable catalogues

• Eight great vegetable gardening books

Background

• Growing kinds of chilli. . .

• Go ahead, pack it in

• Seeds of change

• Dolce vita on a plate

• Salad days that last forever

Background

• Let’s not lose the plots

• A plot on the land

• Seeds of change

• There's life in the allotment

• One potato, two potato...

Annual weed seedlings are emerging in the bog garden. If left, they will quickly spread out of control, as the weather warms up the constantly moist soil. To prevent this, spend a few hours forking and hoeing them out of the ground, then spread a weed-suppressing mulch over the area.

Your questions answered

Can you suggest some small scented plants for my rockery?
K Fry, by e-mail

Reliable rockery options include the sweet violet (Viola odorata),Alyssum montanumandErysimum helveticum. All prefer a sheltered, sunny spot and welldrained soil.

When is the best time to plant rhubarb crowns?
D Bulmer, Helmsley

The crowns of rhubarb are usually planted in February or March; reliable varieties include ‘Stockbridge Arrow’, ‘Timperley Early’, ‘Victoria’ and ‘Champagne’. Choose a sheltered, sunny spot with fertile, welldrained soil and, a week before planting, dig over the ground thoroughly, removing weeds and adding plenty of well-rotted compost. Space the crowns 3ft apart, with the top bud of each one just below ground level, then cover the area with a thick mulch.

Neil Wormald is a qualified horticulturalist.

Send your questions to Garden Expert, Home, The Sunday Times, 1 Pennington Street, London E98 1ST, or e-mail garden.expert@sunday-times.co.uk

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