January, for Janus the two-faced god and doorkeeper who knew the past and foresaw the future, is a good time to take stock of where we have been and where we want to go in the garden calendars coming year.

New plantings will have (hopefully) started to show growth. For those plantings, which show signs of stress or generally look 'unhappy' the question as to why should be addressed.

There are numerous reasons for a below par performance, but the answer is usually narrowed down to three or four causes: an unhealthy plant, poor placement, incorrect planting or general lack of attention.

Consider relocating or removing plants that are constantly in need of pruning usually because they are in the wrong location and replanting with a more desirable plant for the location. Constant pruning does nothing for a plant and becomes a wasteful exercise in the long term from a labour, time, cost and lack of beauty exhibited by the plant itself.

Lawns can look 'untidy' at this time of year especially with the current warm weather; winter weeds abound in lawns if they are not kept under control, with St. Augustine lawns suffering greatly if cut too low.

Many winter weeds are low and ground-hugging by nature, which, in time chokes out desirable grasses, with long-term undesirable effects.

Bermuda grass can show signs of 'thinness' at this time of year especially if in a shady situation, to overcome this, consider over-seeding with a fine leafed variety of rye grass, which will give a quick cover but die out come spring. Now is a good time of year to service and clean all garden equipment and tools, especially lawn mowers when attention to blade height and sharpness is important to create a well-groomed lawn.

Wheel adjustment is also a major problem when symptoms of uneven cuts come to the fore. Sharpen all hand tools and mechanical equipment such as chainsaws and keep them oiled; rust is not kind to a sharpened blade nullifying the exercise of sharpening. The slat house tends to collect 'unwanted' items throughout the year, be they old plants or simply inert objects!

Clean out unwanted items and if deemed necessary clean the benches/structure with a 'Clorox' type wash to kill any unwanted pathogens, ? remove plants for several hours to allow fumes to dissipate ? and check and clean up plants prior to replacing them.

House plants tend to suffer more at this time of the year when grown in a slat house owing to cooler wetter weather, and attention is needed to ensure their survival through the worst of Bermudas calendar January through March.

Shade cloth should be checked for any rips or tears and fixed accordingly, to protect from rain and cold winds it is advisable to cover the house with horticultural grade plastic, including the ends of the house ? doors should be individually covered for ease of access.

Hard landscaped areas should also be attended to at this time of year. Cracked concrete patios or decks, 'settling' footpaths, mildewed pavers, rotten timbers on pergolas and trellis's, broken benches and seats, rust encrusted hinges on gates and doors, holes in asphalt driveways are just a few of the items that can be tackled at this time of year.

Are you tired of the present layout/design of the garden? If so, consider developing a plan to include the changes you envisage for the coming year(s).

This is a bigger job than just general maintenance and needs to be programmed in with other projects, especially if they overlap or impact on their individual completion.

When considering design changes look at the big picture, in other words look at the garden in its totality and not 'parts' of the garden in isolation.

The latter approach often proves to be the downfall of a garden in that it loses its reason for being; spatiality, scale and perspective work together to create a garden, as does the choice of plant material to be used.

In the case of the latter consider the placement of each plant chosen and ask yourself will it grow naturally in that location for a long time, if the answer is no, then use something that does fit the criteria of longevity!

When designing island beds allow for growth down the road by planting at distances between plants so they 'fill' in naturally.

Hard landscaping is part and parcel of any design, especially in Bermuda where we use the garden as an extension to the house for many months of the year. Design faults in most designs include footpaths not wide enough to accommodate two people working side by side, or placement not being in the line of pedestrian traffic.

Adequate parking is lacking which in turn gives cause for the lawn areas nearest the point of access to the house; reversing areas are also found to be minimal in many gardens.

Parking bays should be wide enough to allow egress on to a hard surface and not the flower bed, as is often the case. Footpaths should not form right angles; use forty-five degree angles for ease of walking and to save wear and tear on the paths surrounds.

As one works through the garden, problems will automatically jump out at us, tackle them as they appear and enjoy the fruits of your labour.