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Garden News is the UK's only weekly gardening magazine, with practical and informative advice features from experts, including Carol Klein and Kitchen Gardener, Rob Smith. We'll guide you on what tasks to do in your garden and when to get the jobs done. Discover the best ways to grow your favourite plants together with recommended varieties and planting partners in our in-depth planting features, PLUS, get free seeds worth approximately £132 across the year. Subscribing to Garden News magazine secures you the best price, saving on shop prices.

Don’t move shrubs and trees too often – only do it if you really need to. They may have been sited wrongly, or something nearby is overshadowing them, and now’s the time to move them if you must – but be warned that lots of shrubs and trees will find the process stressful.

The key is to make it as easy for them as possible, so the impact of transplantation is lessened. The bigger the plant, however, the more stress and difficulty it’ll cause it – and you! The likelihood is, though, that you’ve got a young shrub, less than ayear or two old, which needs moving to a better spot and, thankfully, young, small plants don’t mind being moved as much. Both deciduous and evergreen plants can be moved now.

If you can, choose a dull, non-windy day – a bit of rain’s not a problem – so the weather isn’t against you and the plant roots don’t dry out. Don’t try to move extra-large trees – hire a contractor as it’s too much work for one person! Below is a brief guide to successful transplantation. Once transplanted, make sure the plant is adapting well and water evenly and mulch well. As with any establishing plant, fertilise it in early spring as encouragement.

It’s often the case that, all of a sudden in August, your garden flounders and flails and starts to look tired. Gardeners sometimes refer to the ‘late summer flop’, when the long season can take its toll and beds go over. It may be the case that your borders are holding up well – we’ve certainly had good rain and sun to help everything along! But you may just want to pep them up a touch, honing them to late-summer perfection and get them looking good to see you through autumn. Here are a few ways you can plan some new planting and keep your garden looking spectacular for longer.

Take photos to help with planning - Is your garden at the peak of its powers right now? If you’re proud of how it looks at the height of summer, a good tip is to take photos of it. Long shots, border shots and tree shots, as well as close-up plant portraits, will all give you a good overview of what worked and what didn’t, remind you of what you planted and, mainly, it’ll make you feel proud of what you’ve achieved! It’s great to see what it all turns out like, and in the depths of winter, when it’s all just a distant memory, it’s very helpful and cheering indeed.

Make a garden plan - You don’t need to be Monet to get creative and make a garden plan! Stick men and child-like trees and houses are absolutely fine as long as you can get an idea of how your borders are laid out and plan what to put there. So when inclement weather strikes, or you feel inspired on a summer’s evening, break out the tea and cake and start planning, using your drawing.

Note any gaps - Take a close look at your plants and make a note of any gaps that have emerged – either physical gaps, or perhaps spaces in continuous flowering in your scheme. Carry out a quick fix and plug gaps with a few choice plants – try sedums, coloured grasses, some autumn daisies or perhaps tough-as-old-boots erigeron as easy-grow fillers.

Research your plant selection - Rather than picking up what the garden centre tells you to with their limited selection, do a bit of research online or at your local, good-quality nursery as to what floats your boat, but particularly what will work well in your garden. Always keep in mind soil pH and type, aspect, exposure and climate. It’ll work out better for your garden and your wallet in the long run!

Squeeze in a whole new dimension! - Think of all the best gardens you’ve been to and what catches your eye when you go there. It’s always the striking features, isn’t it? Great planting notwithstanding, the focal points have the wow factor. So if you’ve got a few nooks and crannies that need a bit of detail and interest why not add a standard tree in a pot, some clustered pots of succulents, elegant mini statues, lights or even a mirror or two to reflect your wonderful plants in all their glory? Obelisks also break up borders and draw the eye.

How good is your soil? - Your soil works hard through the year and right now it’ll be toiling nineteen to the dozen to keep all your plants fit, healthy and fed. Give it a little pep up if you can between plants with a mulch of compost or leaf mould, grass trimmings or chopped up hedge clippings. It’ll see to those weeds wanting to emerge too, hopefully!

Tend to existing plants - Do you like all your plants, or are there some you could replace? You needn’t waste any healthy ones – simply give them away to fellow gardeners, just be sure they don’t mind being transplanted first. Take a look at perennials and bulbs you can soon be dividing up to increase vigour and health, for replanting elsewhere. Finally, trim back and deadhead flowers and foliage for a late season tidy up.

Mix early, mid and late season interest - Lots of summer plants are beautifully ethereal, wispy, tall and floppy, and are the most likely to look like they’re flagging. Think forward to winter when you’ll want to see stout plants, holding firm against the weather with brilliant foliage, flowers and berries. This means evergreens, of which you can add a few in containers to the back of beds now to firm up the form in borders. This goes for the rest of the year, too. Think about what you want to see poking up every month, delighting and surprising you as each season starts. Add autumn, winter and spring bulbs now and over the next few weeks, while leaving a few spots to add summer bulbs in spring. After you’ve planned what you want to grow, in a couple of weeks or so you can plant some choice herbaceous perennials that span spring, summer and autumn next year.

Crank up the colour! - Think about the colour palette of your beds, particularly when it comes to foliage. Greens of the same colours can lose their interest, so loosen it all up with limes, reds and variegation. Try carex and milium grasses, euonymus and perhaps a cotinus for its stunning, round leaves. Match colour tones and try grading them a little like a rainbow, making the smooth transition into the next colour scheme. Fabulous evergreen foliage will look a real treat, even when most of your flowers have given up the ghost.

Keep it cohesive - Hotchpotch planting does no one any favours. Low-growers may be overshadowed by too-large neighbours and some plants may be hidden from view. Aesthetically it can all look a bit of a mess! When planning new planting areas, exercise a little symmetry and always plant borders in order of eventual height. Plant bulbs and smaller perennials in groups of three to five, either together or dotted about nearby, to link everything together. And if you’re buying plants now, choose larger ones for greater immediate impact, or plants that have new buds emerging so you know you’ll be able to enjoy the display for longer.

The ideal border when it’s all planted up is usually a sort of tapering shape, right from the larger shrubs and perennials poking out at the back, cascading down to the front where smaller pathside plants reside.

Sometimes we just plant where we can, trying to find something we like for the right place. But with good planning and consideration of compact height and habit you can create a lovely low-growing display that doesn’t bury the plants behind it, makes your garden seem bigger, softens the hard edges of your path and will creep and clump prettily at ankle level as you walk past.

Some of the best plants for the job are rockery or alpine plants, so make your way to the alpine section of your garden centre now and you can get some good deals. Planted now they’ll establish well. You could even make these path-edge areas a little more authentic and add pebbles, stones or smallish rocks to complete the look.

Rockery plants usually like good sunshine and really well-drained soil so fork over the soil and add a little grit to each planting hole. Spring’s a great time to enjoy making your little alpine pathside patchwork!

## Garden News Recommendations {#h-garden-news-recommendations}

Evergreen, grass-like little leaf clumps sit below spring and summer pink flower pompoms. Easy to grow in full sun.

Choose small creeping sedums in a range of yellows, greens and reds – they’re so easy and will soon clump and spread.

Mats of humped foliage in neat rosettes stay all year, with spring and summer bursts of usually white or pink flowers. Long-flowering.

Lovely little ‘geranium’ in miniature, which stays tight to the ground and spreads. Tiny pink summer flowers smother the leaves.

What says ‘summer’ better than the big, beautiful symbols of happiness depicted by Vincent Van Gogh in his Sunflowers masterpiece? Unquestioningly, these huge blooms in shades of yellow and gold are stunning and easy to grow.

This weekend is the perfect time to sow seeds where they are to grow. Remember to provide supports for larger varieties straight away, then you’ll know where you planted them and won’t damage the roots later on.

Bigger-bloomed varieties like ‘Giraffe’ can be grown as a companion plant for sweet peas, beans or peas – simply let the legumes scramble up the sunflowers. This not only looks incredible, but the legumes help fix the atmospheric nitrogen into the soil, enabling the sunflowers to grow and bloom better.

‘Racing’ your beans up the sunflower is a great way to get kids interested in growing. You can even plant a squash or courgette underneath to complete a modern version of ‘the three sisters’ planting method.

In a smaller space, miniature sunflowers really come into their own, and I always grow ‘Solar Flare’. This beautiful little plant reaches 60cm (2ft) high, can be grown in the open ground or containers, and each plant provides up to 20 blooms. Your own Van Gogh in your garden!

These smaller, bushy sunflowers can be used as an annual hedge to split a large plot into smaller beds. Bees and insects adore them and birds love to eat the ripe seeds later in the year. During summer, they almost buzz with all the activity around them.

Mexican sunflowers (tithonia) are stunning at the back of the border and their blooms have a long vase life. They typically produce dozens of 5-7.5cm (2-3in) flowers in yellow through to red, and can be sown now.

You can use sunflowers in floral arrangements of all kinds, from patio displays to huge floral arches.

Don’t forget, you can harvest the ripe seeds, roast them in a medium oven for 5-10 minutes and eat them as a healthy, home-grown snack. Delicious!

There are two tomato seasons – the one in late summer when your plants are dripping with fruit for harvest, and the first one is now. This is the time – if you haven’t done so already – to invest in some intriguing new varieties (or old favourites), before sowing and nurturing plants to maturity.

Being sown here is the variety ‘Ildi’, which is slightly unusual – it’s a pear drop-shaped yellow type, which is compact growing and perfect for a hanging basket. As tomato plants can get large and gangly on a small patio, try tucking them away in a basket to droop temptingly in summer, while not taking up much room.

Sow now in a heated greenhouse or propagator, or indoors to put on a warm windowsill. Use moistened seed or cuttings compost levelled out in small pots. Sow thinly on the surface, keeping seed apart so seedlings don’t grow too closely to one another and ‘damp off’ or rot. Once sown, cover with a thin layer of compost and water again lightly. Keep your pots at around 20C, and you’ll see growth progress after about two weeks. Once plants have germinated keep your seedling pots nice and ventilated at a couple of degrees lower to grow on. Prick out once they have two sets of leaves into their own pots, by holding their leaves and firming into dibbed holes. Water and grow on in good light, and reduce their temperature if they get too leggy.

Here are some more excellent coloured varieties to try now - click the images to find out more…

The fragrance of sweet peas is the scent of summer and their delicate flowers among the joys of the season. A few plants will provide masses of cut flowers and bring colour to your garden so it is no wonder that sweet peas are one of our favourite flowers. They are plants for every gardener: easy to grow by anyone, but if you’re up for more of a challenge there are inventive ways to grow them well too.

Whether you want to grow flowers for the local show, have a few cut flowers for a vase inside, bring colour to your patio or mingle fragrant sweet peas to your rose garden, now is the time to start – there is still time to sow seeds or buy seedlings.

These annual climbers have been favourites in our gardens since they were introduced from their native Sicily to Northern Europe in 1699. The early sweet peas had small, unfrilled flowers but were deliciously fragrant. In the late 19th century they were developed into a wider range of colours with bigger flowers and were called Grandifloras, though the flowers are much smaller than the sweet peas we are used to seeing today. The much-loved Spencer sweet peas arose in 1900 as a sport or hybrid of the popular pink Grandiflora ‘Prima Donna’ and was named ‘Countess Spencer’. This had much larger flowers with frilly petals and from this the most of the popular varieties we grow today and all the exhibition kinds were bred.

Sweet peas are annuals and have to be grown every year from seed.

Seeds are large and easy to handle so you can sow them individually in pots so they do not need to be transplanted. They have deep roots and it is traditional to sow them in sweet pea tubes or narrow, long pots.

Sweet pea seeds have a hard seed coat that can impede water absorption and some people like to soak the seeds in water overnight before sowing. Not all varieties need this and seeds with dark seed coats tend to be the slowest to geminate. Soaking can damage the seeds so other people like to ‘chip’ the seeds either with a knife, chipping away a tiny piece of the seed coat or rub them on sandpaper to allow water to be absorbed.

The seeds do not need a high temperature to germinate and anything above 15c is sufficient.

If sowing in autumn, the seedlings must be kept cool and in bright light over winter. A cold greenhouse or coldframe is ideal as the plants will tolerate light frost but must be kept moist. The main dangers to them are mice, which will eat the seeds and seedlings, and slugs and snails.

Whether sown in spring or autumn, they can be planted out in March or April where they are to bloom. Protect them from slugs and snails. Light frost will not harm them.

Sweet peas are not fussy about soil but they prefer a well-prepared soil that has had some garden compost or well rotted manure added and they prefer a slightly alkaline soil. They will grow in most soils as long as you add organic matter and plant them in full sun.

You can also grow them in pots and containers. Use a good quality multipurpose compost or John Innes No 3 compost. Although sweet peas will tolerate a little drought they should be kept watered in dry weather or they will get mildew. In containers make sure they are given weekly liquid fertiliser to keep them growing and flowering.

It is common for the first few flower buds to drop off without opening and this will be most likely in wet, cool weather. Its nothing to worry about and later flowers usually open normally. To keep your plants blooming for longer it is important to keep cutting the flowers If seedpods form the plants quickly deteriorate and stop flowering. So keep cutting your sweet peas for the house.

Bring colour and scent to your patio with sweet peas in pots and hanging baskets too. Dwarf sweet peas are just as easy to grow as other types but need no support and although they are not as good for cutting they will help you enjoy sweet peas all around your garden and home throughout summer.

You can grow sweet peas in so many ways. Most sweet peas are climbers that will reach 2m or more if they are grown well. These can be planted to grow up wigwams of canes, sticks or hazel twigs or planted to clamber up bean netting or through other climbers over arches and fences. For the best quality flowers and the longest stems, for cutting and exhibition, you need to spend more time training them and grow individual stems up canes (cordons).

The old fashioned, grandiflora kinds have smaller flowers than the frilly Spencers and these are the best for mixing with other climbers or to grow up netting. There are also dwarf kinds that form bushy plants or ground cover and these are suitable for containers and hanging baskets.

For the best quality sweet peas it is best to grow them as cordons – single stemmed plants.

Sow the seeds in autumn and when they have about five leaves pinch out the tips of the stems. Of the sideshoots that result, remove all but the strongest. The soil should be well prepared and canes erected so they are about 40cm apart to give each plant room to grow.

Plant out the seedlings in March or early April. It is important to train the plants carefully and remove the tendrils at the ends of the leaves. This is to prevent the plants getting tangled and concentrates the plants’ efforts into making big leaves and strong flowers. As the plants grow tie them to the canes or use wire rings. This will need to be done at least once a week as the plants grow.

As the plants get older, remove sideshoots as they appear, while they’re small. Keep the flowers cut to prevent seeds from forming. When the plants reach the top of the canes they can be layered. To do this you have to untie the plants (it is easier if you have used wire rings) and lay them on the ground along the rows. Then train them up another cane so most of the length of the plant is along the ground and tie the top 30cm or so up the new cane. This allows you to get 4m of growth from the plant and extend the season of flowers.

Many growers will sow in October/November. This allows the plants to grow slowly through winter and form strong roots, which are generally considered, give the plants a head start in spring. But you can also sow them in spring. It is worth sowing them in individual, small, deep pots. If you are growing them up netting or wigwams, sow three or four seeds per pot and plant out as a clump but if you are growing them up canes as cordons then sow them in separate pots. For most purposes sowing in spring is fine but give them a chance to make good roots.

During the last weekend in January, people across the UK will be spending an hour watching and counting the birds in their garden, local park or green space. Why? To take part in the UK's biggest citizen science project - the RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch.

Last year, over half a million people joined in, counting more than 9 million birds!

Bird feeders will encourage birds to visit your garden, but before you buy on, why not try a quick upcycling craft? You can make your own bird cake by mixing one part melted lard or suet into two parts birdseed and pushing into any container and then hanging up high. We think pretty floral teacups look great! You could also make your bird cake into ball shapes and push them into a metal whisk to hang in the garden.

Of course, there are lots of natural bird foods in your garden too. Greenfinches, goldfinches, blackbirds and thrushes will happily feast on rosehips left on your plants, whilst tits, siskins and sparrows will flock to the heads of sunflowers to prise off the oil-rich seed hearts.

To take part in the RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch (26-28th January 2024), head to their website **:a[rspb.org.uk/birdwatch]{href='https://rspb.org.uk/whats-happening/big-garden-birdwatch' }** and sign up. You'll receive a guide to help identify the most common birds your likely to see as well as useful information on how to attract birds to your garden.

Gardeners love to talk about the weather and we can probably all agree that our seasons are becoming less predictable. Recent decades have been less foreseeable for drought, rainfall (or flooding), summer heat and winter ice. Winter cold can be an instant overnight killer and now, we can’t even expect an insulating blanket of snow before the deadly chill. But some plants will take plunging winter temperatures that we never ever see in this country – unless they also have other problems to tolerate.

## How cold is cold? {#h-how-cold-is-cold}

But what exactly do we mean by cold? The Royal Horticultural Society has come up with the hardiness rating system that ranks the winter tolerance of plants on a scale of 1­7. Plants rated as H1 need heated greenhouse protection, while at the other extreme, those rated H7 are guaranteed to be winter hardy anywhere in Britain and in the coldest parts of Europe – they’ll survive temperatures of at least -20C. All the plants mentioned here are rated as H7.

But surviving winter isn’t all about the cold. Plants are more likely to struggle in winter if planted in wet or waterlogged soil, in sites shaded from winter sunshine and in situations exposed to north and east winds. Of course, in other parts of the world the winters are much more ferocious. The American hardiness rating system takes in plants that are hardy at -46C, of which I could find only one – cotton grass (eriophorum). Brrr!

So as the chill kicks in, we need to look for plants that are tough enough to handle it. All the plants I suggest in this article will survive winters of -20C or below and all have received the prestigious RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM), so are guaranteed to be fine plants that are easy to grow.

Our native wild yarrow, and most varieties of achillea derived from it, take extremes of both cold and summer drought; they may not look their best after a parched summer, but they survive. The mounds of dark green, feathery leaves are attractive before and after their summer flowering, while deadheading prolongs the season and prevents unwanted  
self-sown seedlings. ‘Heidi’ has pink flower heads fading to white, ‘Martina’ is rich yellow that pales as it matures and  
‘Summerwine’ is deep purplish red, fading harmoniously.

Bold, leathery and usually evergreen leaves make good ground cover, often turning wine or beetroot red in winter. Shortbranched clusters of red, pink or white flowers open in spring and, although they may be damaged by a surprise late frost, the fat rhizomes are far more resilient. Some varieties are hardier than others; top picks are pink-flowered ‘Eric Smith’, which is best for winter foliage colour, while ‘Eroica’ has unusually tall and long-lasting flower heads. White-flowered varieties seem less hardy but are still rated H6.

More than 100 hosta varieties have been given the RHS AGM and all are hardy down to RHS H7, the hardiest rating of all (many take -40C) so the crowns and roots really are tough. However, new spring shoots can be vulnerable to late-spring frost, although they’ll shoot again. Clear away the frosted growth and give them a liquid feed to help them recover. I’d especially recommend ‘Christmas Tree’ for variegated foliage and ‘Fragrant Bouquet’ for super-scented summer flowers.

All but one of the birch varieties that have received the RHS AGM are rated as super hardy, H7, even growing as far north as Arctic Canada and Alaska. They tend to be attractive trees that grow quickly and while they don’t have the longevity of oaks and beeches, a birch will usually outlive the gardener who plants it. Well known Himalayan birches, including ‘Grayswood Ghost’, are grown for the shining white bark, while _Betula pendula_ ‘Tristis’, the weeping birch, soon develops its characteristic elegant shape.

Junipers are well known to be super-tolerant of icy winters; some even grow wild in the Arctic. Developing into elegant spires, large and small, spreading shrubs or horizontal ground cover, the prickly foliage comes in many shades of green, grey and blue. All appreciate sun and good drainage. _Juniperus communis_ ‘Compressa’ very slowly develops into a neat column of dark growth, ideal for troughs. ‘Grey Owl’ makes an elegant, widely spreading plant in silvery grey, while _J. squamata_ ‘Blue Carpet’ becomes a low, horizontal, ground-hugging carpet in bluish grey.

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You may not know if you have hedgehogs in your garden or not, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take steps to help them out just in case. As they’re coming out of hibernation now they’ll need food. Don’t put out bread and milk, it’s dog or cat food that’s best for them (the meat varieties, not fish), and this can be left out with a dish of water somewhere roaming cats can’t find it. You can also buy hedgehog food sold as kibble from garden centres.

Using less garden chemicals is better for the environment and our animal friends. Less reliance on chemical help makes for a biodiverse garden that will keep itself in check for the most part. Slug pellets and other sprays and powders can be extremely poisonous to hedgehogs.

Hedgehogs need free reign to be able to tuck themselves away on the search for insects and invertebrates to eat. If you keep some areas of grass long or leave an area of ivy and wild grasses alone and uncut they can roam happily. If your garden is planted up beautifully, with lots of different types of plants to attract lots of different insects, hedgehogs will help you keep slugs and other pests down too!

It’s the time to turn and add to heaps more readily, but before you do, always have a peek in and around your heap to check no hedgehogs have decided to use yours as a warm home. You wouldn’t want to dig your fork in and damage any of our invaluable garden friends and pest controllers, would you?

Hedgehogs like to travel a surprisingly long way – around two to three kilometres (almost two miles) – at night in search of food, shelter and eventually mates. The only way they can do this is through gaps in garden hedges and fences, which are in shorter supply these days. We can do our bit by leaving some spaces open or sawing little holes in wooden fences.

In a quiet, secluded corner of the garden, why not add a little hedgehog house? It’s the perfect shelter away from predators, pets and other hazards, and mean just-woken-up hogs can take respite safely. It’s also a great place to feed hedgehogs without other animals taking their share. Remember to clean it out every year in mid-spring. Buy one from garden centres or online. Position it with foliage and other camouflage around it.

If you find an injured or unwell hedgehog in the day time, wear gardening gloves to pick it up, holding it under its belly. Put it in a high-sided box with a tea towel as shelter.

Offer it dog or cat food and some fresh water to feed on. It may also need warmth so give it a warm (not boiling) hot water bottle.

Contact the British Hedgehog Preservation Society on 01584 890801 for advice or visit www. britishhedgehogs.org.uk.

Some people like to pack up their plots for most of autumn and winter, preferring to tidy up and wait for warmer days before giving their garden a bright makeover.

But if you think about it, that’s four or five long months before you can enjoy your garden again – far too long for us keen gardeners!

Winter gardens can be really rewarding, cosy spaces with lots of bright colours and interest, so here are some key pointers to help your plot prosper now.

There are plenty of plants with a bounty of berries in autumn, and then there are the more useful shrubs and trees that hold onto their fruit all through winter, as if they know their colour is most welcome for much longer into the year.

There are small potted shrubs for the doorstep at garden centres such as gaultheria and skimmia, giving a dash of immediate dazzle, but look a little deeper for some more permanent berrying beauties in a range of colours.

Good solid choices are holly, cotoneaster or fiery orange, yellow and red pyracantha, or go a step further for something special.

Try American native _Ilex verticillata_, a deciduous holly with eye-catching crowds of red berries crammed along each naked stem. Look into buying both male and female plants to be sure of berries. Neon-purple callicarpa defies the season, while selected crab apples – while not strictly berries – keep their fruits all through winter, like the variety ‘Adirondack’.

Have you noticed how spring and summer are full to the brim with blue plants, signifying freshness and vibrancy?

You can defy the winter season and bring a little of this ‘spring’ colour to your garden now, of course, with the addition of bright blue fescues and a couple of blue feature conifers such as juniper ‘Blue Arrow’ and Juniperus squamata.

The sun shining on icy blue stems is a sight to behold. Liberally dot about some early iris and early crocus to see your blue display transfer into late winter.

Your easiest and arguably most enjoyable winter job is to freshen up your pots with a cacophony of colour now – grab some bargains at your local garden centre in the bedding and pot department and create some stunning displays.

Really anything goes – don’t worry too much about lots of room for shrub roots, you can always take them out of the pot in spring and plant them properly elsewhere.

Be sure to add a smattering of crocus, aconite and early iris into the mix for good measure.

You can get some terrific topiary structures already made for you at this time of year, or you can start your own shape now.

Just buy your plants and wire shapes and leave clipping till spring.

Topiary comes alive in winter, defining borders and paths with quirky balls and spirals when a lot of other things have flopped and disappeared.

Box is a clippable classic, while yew has perhaps the most attractive foliage.

What could entice you out in the garden for a wander more than a range of sweet and spicy scents emanating from beautiful early flowers?

Gather a collection of strategically placed shrubs now and get planting – if they don’t flower this year, preparing in advance and getting them settled in now will see them fragrantly flowering either next winter or the one after.

It’ll be worth the wait! Try essential sarcococca, as well as fresh and zesty _Hamamelis mollis_. In late winter chimonanthus has super sweet yellow flowers on bare stems, whose waxy appearance always makes you want to touch them.

Viburnum ‘Dawn’ is a long flowerer, generously emitting a delicious scent sometimes for six months from October.

Drapes of wintry lights woven through trees and hedging make a huge difference to your winter garden, but you can keep it simple instead of spending ages wiring strings through branches, and dreading taking them down again in a couple of months.

Simply wind strings at low level around the bottom of tree trunks, through empty pergolas, or draped over box balls. That way the light strings can be easily removed.

You could always keep them up, though, and enjoy the light display all through the year!

If you don’t like getting out in the garden in the freezing cold to admire all the new additions to pep up your winter garden, let the warmth come to you!

Chimeneas are very reasonable from garden centres, lovely and warm and can be used on nippy summer nights too, of course.

But for big parties outside when all your family can sit on crisp day or night with marshmallows and sing carols, try a fire pit surrounded by seating.

There’s nothing cosier than a winter campfire – you’ll now be able to look on at your winter stems, scented flowers, decorations and patio displays from the comfort of the fireside!

Much of the best winter interest started out with its heyday in summer.

Billows of perennials have their first time in the sun flowering and bulking up our summer borders.

But some of the sturdier ones have a second, often more impressive, spell in the limelight from late autumn onwards.

Take phlomis and honesty, for example, whose rounded seed head punctuation dots turn heads more in winter than in summer.

Also go for miscanthus, molinia and calamagrostis grasses as well as sedums and sea hollies for good measure.

After leaf fall, the garden needn’t be bare and devoid of colour.

It can be a melancholy time once all that vivid leaf colour goes away, particularly this year, when the brightness of our autumn foliage was something special.

Many tree stems, often hidden by spring and summer leaves, get to show off their merits now. Try a vivid collection of lime green cornus ‘Flaviramea’, hot orange ‘Midwinter Fire’ and cherry red ‘Sibirica’.

Snakebark and paperbark maples also make larger trees with beautiful tactile trunks.

Harness those twinkling winter frosts and use them to your advantage.

Get in some evergreens that look simply gorgeous with ice-lined fronds and stems, such as ophiopogon, carex, ferns and semi-evergreen hakonechloa.

Hoar frosts, created on clear, still days, are a wonder of nature, allowing us to admire leaf form and grass stems close up, best shown off on grasses and fronded plants.

Seduced by their dazzling diversity of colour, tulips are often an impulse buy while visiting a garden centre, and being one of the last spring bulbs you can still plant, they’re useful for playing catch-up with springtime displays.

Tulips really come into their own when grown in pots. If you’re not experienced at marrying up the flowering times of different varieties, avoid mixing them together and just plant one variety per pot, then group containers together.

Choose types that are stocky with strong stems, as spring winds can soon dismantle blooms. For windier, more exposed gardens choose dwarf varieties bred from T. kaufmanniana, but those selected here are also sturdy growing types.

It’s best to just keep tulips in pots for a year, as subsequent displays usually diminish in intensity, so either plant them out into the garden once they’re dormant in summer or discard and replant with fresh bulbs next season.

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