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This is a question every gardener will be asking themselves about at least some of their treasured plants about now.  My advice is don't be in a hurry to throw things away yet.  

For absolute beginners to gardening please remember that it is natural for herbaceous perennials to die back to ground level or even below in winter.

Heleniums usually have a ring of new rosettes around them by now promising this summer's show. Many just look like dead sticks now. But be patient because although I suspect I've lost some this year many have new plantlets just starting to form underground that will soon push through the surface.

Salvia guaranitica is a tuberous perennial with blue flowers in summer. It is a lot tougher than it looks and digging up a stock plant today I was relieved to find new shoots emerging around the old stems. Same with Salvia patens Cambridge Blue.

The New World Salvias (greggii, jamensis etc) likewise are still holding onto some leaf and look hopeful for the spring.

Bidens Heterophyllus has sent out new stems underground that are getting ready to grow upwards in spring.

Hemerocallis are very tough but I've been going around the garden and nursery removing the soggy leaves of the evergreen varieties to avoid rots setting in.

March 3rd: Gardener's Friend

The Robin is a familiar site in most gardens. Last year we were lucky enough to have a pair nest in a flower pot in our garage. (For US readers the British Robin is very different bird to one you give this name to) 

I had read that Britain's Robin's migrate south in winter to be replaced by migrants from Germany. However the hen bird has stayed with us all winter getting more and more trusting of us. She often comes and sits on our potting tables looking for small worms from the soil we remove from the plants. She especially loves Goat Moth caterpillars. We have found a few of these this year burrowing up the old stems of Heleniums thankfully ignoring the new plantlets. These are about 1in / 2.5cm long or longer with white rough body and brown head but with distinct pairs of legs. Robin also likes wireworm but not slugs. She has also developed a taste for the pelleted food we give our ducks and will take this from our hand. She is getting quite bossy now coming and reminding us its time for duck food at 3 O'clock in the afternoon. Woe and betide us if we're late....

After two mornings in a row with temperatures down to minus 8 C I'm regretting removing the dead stems from my plants - even the hardiest of them - in February. Aster Anja's Choice had lots of new growth protected by last year's stems, now crisp and blackened by the frost. Hopefully it will regrow but it is bound to set it back a bit. 

It really demonstrates just how much protection is provided by old stems and leaves.

March 16th: Spring is sprung!

Everyone is talking about how late spring is this year: daffodils not in bloom, grass not growing, the woes are many.  This morning the first frogspawn appeared in our little pond, a welcome sign of spring.  Checking back on my records this is only one week later than after the very mild winter of 2007/8.  Frogs it seems are not put off by the cold winter. 

All of a sudden today our Pulmonaria flowers were open and straight away became the favourite haunt of early flying Buff-Tailed Bumblebees. 

Early flowering plants are very important for bumblebees. Primula, daffs, heathers are among the first to provide food for the bees.

Just back from our first Plant Hunters Fair of the season at Ness Botanic Gardens. The major talking point of gardeners visiting the fair was of course the cold winter. 

One sad gardener had hoyed up their Penstemons believing them dead only to find the one left behind had begun to sprout just a day or two later. 

With all woody perennials I employ a wait and see approach after a cold winter because it is just impossible to predict how much of the top growth has survived. I don't touch them at all and wait to see where new growth starts. If I'm lucky this year and some of the top growth has survived I'll prune back to this level then prune a little harder to create a nice shaped bush.  If no growth appears I'll cut back to a lower level and hope that new growth appears from below ground. Once any new growth is looking strong the old stems can be cut back to the ground.

Another question was about Phlox eelworm and how to tell if you've got it. Fortunately we never had eelworm in our garden (touch wood). In Phlox it causes thin whippy leaves and split stems (beware though split stems are more likely to be the result of drought whilst the plants are putting on growth in late spring. The best way to avoid it is only plants healthy looking plants. Any unhealthy plants you want to preserve and propagate should only be done from root cuttings. 

The question of keeping Achillea through the winter arose. Again we've never had a problem but some people with heavy soils may need to take some extra care. A gardener from Southport with sandy soil (or more like a beach by the description) said she had no problems and indeed Terracotta spread well for them. In our garden it forms a small clump and flatly refuses to spread. For gardeners with heavy soil you can try cutting the taller stems down to ground level in late September. This encourages roots and shoot growth which will help build the plants up for the trials of winter.