VAL BOURNE urges gardeners to get busy taking cuttings from their favourite plants

You can't help noticing that everything is burgeoning, positively surging into growth. My asparagus bed has been weeded, weeded, weeded and weeded again (by me) and the lawn edges last only a day or two before nature makes them fuzzy again. Capitalise on all this frantic growth by doing some propagating of herbs, shrubby material and perennials - for now is the time to take cuttings. They will root in weeks and you don't need any specialist equipment. Pots and polythene bags will do.

The technique is to look for semi-ripe wood and that's new growth that's midway between soft and woody. It should still be pliable and bend, but the stem should feel firm as well. Ideally it should be this year's growth. Sages, penstemons, lavenders, anthemis and salvias will have plenty of pieces to cut. Lots of shrubs (ribes, buddlejas, viburnums and philadelphus) will also have cutting material. Pieces can also be pulled away from achilleas and anthemis and pinks can also be propagated now.

If it's shrubs choose pieces that are 4-5in long (10-12cm) and remove any flower buds you see to concentrate the plant's energy into rooting. The leaves appear from bumpy pieces called nodes and most cuttings are trimmed just under the node (the bump) with a sharp knife. The lower leaves are stripped away and any leaves that are too large are trimmed to prevent excessive transpiration.

My cuttings are rooted in pots or seed trays full of damp horticultural sand and then placed somewhere cool that's away from overhead sun and heavy rain. A shady wall will do. If it's something very precious I cover it loosely with a polythene bag. The trays and pots of sand are kept at the ready, so no mixing up when you are busy - just a quick plunge. Once they feel firmly rooted I transplant them into gritty compost - roughly a 50 per cent mix of soil-based John Innes No 1 compost and grit.

Some gardeners are shocked by my use of sand and it may seem a little lazy. But my cuttings root easily and I think that every gardener should have a tray or two of sand on standby for those odd plant pieces that you snap as you weed or plant. Push the cuttings in well so that about half is submerged.

Clematis cuttings can also be taken now. But these are cut between the nodes. You need to look for firm growth and cut a piece about 8in in length (20cm) about 2in below a node. Then cut again about an inch (5cm) above the next node up. Your cutting should have two nodes ideally - but one will do. Each cutting is plunged into a deep pot of sand and one potful will take many. You should cover clematis cuttings with polythene as they wilt easily. Success will depend on variety. Some are easy and others resist.

The weather also plays its part and cuttings always seem to do better when cut in damp weather. So a wet day is ideal for this job!