ALTHOUGH it's only the first week in January, we are now well past the shortest days of winter and, throughout the garden, plants are beginning to stir.

The catkins on birch, hazel and Garrya are starting to lengthen, Bergenia buds are getting fatter and the bronze foliage of Ranunculus Brazen Hussy' is poking boldly through a carpet of autumn leaves I have yet to collect. There is even a rather bedraggled primrose in full flower in my front garden.

And everywhere, there are the green shoots of bulbs protruding through the cold soil, like little time bombs waiting to go off!

The first to flower will be the snowdrops. You can easily spot which they are from the narrow, grey-green spears of foliage, and delicate white flower buds just showing at their tips.

A few warm days and they will be growing rapidly, the flowers opening to reveal the familiar white bells with their crisp green markings.

Generally regarded as a British native, the common snowdrop, Galanthus nivalis, naturalises readily in borders, hedgerows and short grass. It is happiest in partial shade, in a humus rich soil that doesn't dry out in summer.

In all, there are around 19 different species of snowdrop, found in the wild throughout Europe and western Asia. They hybridise readily in gardens and our nurserymen have had a field day, producing as many as 300 different varieties for us to choose from.

Unless you are a true enthusiast, there seems to be little to choose between them, though there are doubles like Galanthus nivalis Lady Elphinstone' and larger-flowered varieties, including Galanthus ikariae John Gray'. Some, like Galanthus elwesii, have scented flowers while others, such as Galanthus plicatus, can be up to eight inches tall.

For the last couple of years, I have been trying to disperse the snowdrops in our garden, from four or five large and rather congested clumps by the front path, throughout the rest of the garden.

Snowdrops move best while in full growth, in the green' as the nurserymen call it. Dig them up and carefully split them (into small clumps rather than into single bulbs) after the foliage has begun to extend but before the flowers open.

That way, the roots of the bulbs will continue to grow after you move them and you will be able to see them flowering in their new home within days of planting them out.

JOBS FOR THE WEEK....

' Keep warm and improve your garden compost by turning the heap over.

' Remember to put out food and water for the birds - this time of year can be especially hard for them.

' Check around the base of shrubs and hedges for invading brambles; dig them out now while they are easy to spot.