Posts by janet

February can be mild or freezing so it is difficult to plan for flowering colour. There are the tough little stalwarts namely snowdrops and crocuses in flower alongside the blue Chionodoxa or Iris reticulata. Snowdrops do well in slight shade in well drained soil. Crocus can have large flowers and blackbirds tend to like destroying the yellow flowers. I find the species crocuses such as Crocus Tommasinianus better as they have smaller...

January is difficult for colour in the garden. For inspiration I would visit Ness Botanic Gardens on the Wirral or Dunham Massey Gardens near Altrincham and enjoy the wide variety of colour and interest from flowers, foliage and bark. In mild periods in January the winter heather Erica carnea varieties, will give colour from pink and white flowers. When a few varieties are grown together on a sloping bank, they look spectacular....

The year end is approaching and it is time to enjoy the small splashes of colour in the garden. Frost is so pretty on the most ordinary of foliage so enjoy the frosting on the humble blackberry leaf (see photo) or the large flat dying heads of Sedum or Hydrangea. I know I have mentioned this before but one of my favourite shrubs Viburnum bodnantense Dawn, started flowering in October and is heavy with scent in milder periods...

With autumn sunshine and cooler nights there are flowers that will give you plenty of colour in October if you plan ahead. So if your garden has looked dull this year and you have the right soil, here are a few ideas for late colour, mainly in pink and red. For well drained soil in sunshine, such as at the base of a wall I would try Nerine bowdenii. This exotic looking deep pink flower is about 30 cm (12 ins) tall and emerges before...

I love early autumn when a new range of plants spring into colour. It takes some planning to have a border looking good at this time especially as we have had a dry summer so many plants are dry and tired. If you are looking for plants that will come up every year and give you a display of colour at this time of year consider perennials such as Knipofia or Red Hot Pokers although some are not red. Varieties such as Sunningdale Yellow...