Innehållsförteckning för The Winter Garden från The Winter Garden

Winter can be a productive time for the savvy fruit and veg gardener. As long as you planned ahead and planted suitable crops earlier in the year, you get to wrap up warm and venture outside to harvest some tasty treats. But it’s not all about reaping – December and January are also great times to get sowing. Some produce will reward you with an early harvest, enabling you to sow another batch in the spring for a double whammy! Read on to discover how to grow food during the winter, plus get some ideas for what can be harvested and sown this time of year. HOW TO LOOK AFTER fruit and veg There are a few considerations when tending to edibles during the winter. A lot of them are…

Hedgehogs love to roam around looking for food, but garden fences create barriers and stop them in their travels. One of the first things you can do to help is to cut a small hole in your fence so hedgehogs can wander freely into the next garden whenever they want. Tidy gardens aren’t good for them either. Our hedgehog friends need piles of leaves and logs to create their preferred habitat of a quiet and secluded spot that’s warm and dry, to see them through the winter. Gardens are the last refuge of the hedgehog, because intensive farming has destroyed their habitat, exposing them to predatory badgers. Sadly, the population of 35 million has fallen to 1.5 million today. Keep reading to discover other ways you can help the hedgehogs…

Hyacinths are the ultimate spring bulbs, offering large flower spikes jam-packed with colourful petals and a delicious scent, early in the season. We usually plant the bulbs in autumn, but potted hyacinths are available throughout late winter and early spring in garden centres. Hyacinths generally appear after daffodils, but before the tulips have hit their stride, so they’re brilliant for keeping the colour going. We often think of hyacinths in classic pinks and blues, but there are unusual colours too – such as yellow, and dramatic near-black shades for a real statement. You could use several different pastel colours together for a candy-coloured scheme. Or ring the changes with a contemporary look, such as black hyacinths with the early tulip ‘Orange Emperor’. They are a great plant for outdoors as…

Treat your plants to a light trim and this will keep things smart through autumn and into next year. It will help keep them healthy and in good shape, removing damaged or diseased stems. Done regularly, it also stops shrubs taking over, letting more light into the winter garden to benefit smaller plants that may have been stuck in their shade. Another plus is that in some overgrown cases, it can even make your garden look bigger. Little and often is the trick, so things don’t get out of hand. Its the best time for pruning many shrubs, too, as they start to die back and they’ll come back stronger next year. ‘Autumn is a key time for gardeners,’ says Georgina Taylor of Fiskars. ‘It’s the culmination of all your…

Every garden should include some clever landscaping ideas with evergreens as they’re the most hardworking shrubs and trees that will really earn their place in your scheme. They add year-round interest and structure, which makes them especially important over winter. They are generally a low-maintenance option, too. Some varieties add colour with blooms and berries, while others are highly scented, so they contribute far more than simply lush, reliable and good-looking green foliage. Whether you decide to mix them in with your planting or let them be the main focal point, you won’t be disappointed with the results. Structural evergreens form the backbone of the garden, providing a framework that will let other plants shine. ‘When designing any garden, you want a high percentage of evergreen plants that hold their…

1 TULIPS One of the most versatile of spring-flowering bulbs, tulips look as good in containers as they do in borders. A pot planted with one type of tulip is more eye-catching than the diluted effect of flowers dotted about the garden. There are hundreds to choose from, the popular ones that vie for attention include: ‘Estella Rijnveld’ (parrot), ‘Orange Princess’ (late double), and Tulipa viridiflora. Tulips fade away after a couple of years so it’s best to plant new ones each autumn. For naturalising in grass, try the small, yellow T. praestans ‘Shogun’ or T. ‘Peppermintstick’ (pictured, left), which are reliably perennial. Tulips prefer a hot, sunny spot. Plant bulbs in November to help reduce the risk of tulip fire disease. H varies: 15-75cm 2 IRIS RETICULATA (DWARF IRIS) Dwarf…

Their winning blend of flowers and leaves makes heathers, also known as ericas, invaluable for winter, with good foliage all year round, and delightful blooms from November to March. The evergreen leaves add colour during the colder months. And it’s not just green – the bronze shades are especially useful as they set off the brightness of small bulbs. There are also varieties with foliage in gold and amber, with reddish tints, and even those with leaves that change as the seasons come and go. The blooms comprise dainty little bells in reds, pinks and white that line the stems in winter, providing food for insects. Another feature of hardy winter heathers that endears them to gardeners is that, unlike other heathers, they’re happy in most soils. Other heathers are…

By midwinter, gardens are largely stripped of foliage and flowers, their underlying structure laid bare. As summer’s perennials fade away, half-forgotten ornaments come to light, clipped hedges are revealed, and pergolas and arches shed their leafy coverings. Even trees and evergreens are no longer eclipsed by summer’s star plants, and reassert their place in winter’s pared-down framework. A strong core of enduring features is key to gardens that appeal in every season. Eye-catching focal points give cohesion, add personal touches, and have the power to be dramatic or simply beautiful. All but the tiniest gardens subdivide into smaller areas, each offering potential for a main feature such as a gazebo, statue, seat, topiary, container, ornament, tree or specimen plant that contributes foliage, flowers, bark or fruits. Inevitably, winter gardens are…

CONTAINERS Pot up your largest containers with seasonal plants to give several months of pleasure. The following suggestions can be put together in no time with plants from the garden centre 1 GAULTHERIA PROCUMBENS Bring an instant, stylish look using the white or red berried gaultheria, combined with dwarf conifers. Add pansies and miniature cyclamen for an extra splash of colour. H50cm 2 HELLEBORE There’s nothing quite like a Christmas rose to stop you in your tracks. Pot up into John Innes No2 compost with added grit and pop on a cool windowsill to flower for Christmas. H30cm 3 WINTER PANSIES Pansies flower for more prolonged periods if you can find plants that are well established in their pots ready for planting. Regularly nip off any fading flowerheads as you…

Ornamental grasses are every bit as impressive in small spaces as they are in vast sweeping, prairie-style borders. The qualities they bring to large displays – height, colour, swaying movement and swishing sound – are also essential in gardens where space is at a premium. There are many beautiful, compact grasses available for planting now that won’t take over the garden, as well as upright varieties that, while they may be tall, will take up little ground area. This is good news as not only are grasses easy to grow, but once established they are low maintenance and relatively free from pests and diseases. The plants will fill your borders with glorious autumn colour, turning vivid tones of orange, red and yellow as the summer fades. When choosing, don’t forget…

Bulb planting season is almost here – you may have noticed those tempting colourful catalogues popping through your letterbox! But how to choose from the dazzling selection on offer? Read our guide to the main bulb groups so you can choose the best ones for your space, even if it’s only a windowsill. Bulbs come in every size and colour imaginable, to suit shady or sunny, small or large gardens. Many work brilliantly in containers. They can be incredible value and are low maintenance as well – once you’ve planted them, your work is done until they pop up in spring. So start planning your spring scheme now. Cast your mind back to spring in your garden (refer to snaps if you have them) and consider which bulbs could best…

In the race against time to prepare for Christmas, nothing beats seasonal pots for providing splashes of cheery colour outdoors. As the shortest day approaches, the brightest, longest-lasting flowers are the most appealing, promising a lovely display well into the New Year. However, winds are surprisingly dehydrating, so check that containers do not dry out. Grouping pots not only provides each with protection, but also has much greater visual impact. Mix and match different styles, such as warm terracotta with copper verdigris or glazed pottery with contemporary steel, ensuring that the eventual size of plants are in proportion with the size and shape of the pot. Plus, it’s better to overfill than to have an underwhelming display later. These six pot recipes will bring beauty to your garden during the winter.…

Fill your house with scent during the winter months by forcing bulbs indoors. Autumn is the traditional season for bulb planting, and there’s no better time to plant up indoor bulbs, too. It might seem premature to be thinking about December flowers now, but bulbs start forming their roots early, and the bigger the root system, the better the results. So get ahead and start off your own hyacinths, amaryllis and narcissi in large pots indoors and when the flower buds burst open in time for Christmas, you’ll be so glad you did. You can force any ordinary outdoor bulb to encourage them to flower much earlier by placing them in a paper bag at the bottom of the fridge for four to six weeks. Once they’ve had their cool…

I rises are probably the most flamboyant of summer flowers – their sparkling rainbow colours are simply dazzling. But there are also varieties that bloom during cooler periods, with irises that flower from November through to March – and there are even ones with bright berries! In November and December (and beyond) we have Iris unguicularis, the fragrant Algerian iris. A short plant for hot and sunny places, its blooms come in blues, purples and white. It makes steadily spreading clumps about 30-40cm high, with slender leaves and a long succession of colourful flowers. There are a number of varieties, but they can be difficult to find in nurseries. Finally, there’s a whole range of winter and spring varieties of iris, mainly derived from Iris reticulata, which grow from small bulbs.…