The new gardening season is just around the corner and after the winter months, many can hardly wait.

You can finally get to work and get your hands back in the ground. You can get started as early as February for some types of vegetables.

Even if it's still too chilly outside, it's time to make the first preparations on the windowsill or in a heated greenhouse so that you can soon look forward to delicious and fresh produce.

These plants, among others, prefer a warm, bright location to start their life cycle:

If you want to sow directly outdoors, there are also some hard-core candidates that are more suitable: carrots, radishes, garlic and some herbs tolerate the colder February air well. A frost-free period is also ideal for sowing.

However, with temperatures dropping away in the coming days, particularly from the exceptionally mild conditions we have had recently, there is still the risk of occasional night-time frosts.