WHAT TO PLANT...

PUT in deciduous shrubs, climbers and wall shrubs from mid-march, evergreens in April and perennials from then onwards.

FLOWERS

Chimonanthus praecox (wintersweet).

Nodding yellow bells from December to March, pictured right.

Hamamelis mollis (witch hazel).

Medium-large shrubs with spidery yellow, orange or red flowers from November to March.

Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’. Twisted stems and dangling yellow catkins in February.

Stachyurus praecox. Large shrub or medium tree, dangling sprigs of yellow flowers in February and March.

EVERGREEN SHRUBS

Mahonia japonica. Striking jagged, shiny foliage and large, shuttlecock-shaped sprays of yellow flowers from November to March, pictured right.

Fatsia japonica. Glossy leaves, with cream flowers in November and berries all winter.

Sarcococca hookeriana digyna (winter box). A four-footer with straight stems of narrow leaves and scented flowers.

CLIMBERS AND WALL SHRUBS

Clematis cirrhosa ‘Freckles’. Evergreen with ferny foliage and cup-shaped flowers, pictured right.

Abeliophyllum distichum (white forsythia). Wall shrub with white, almond-scented blossom from February and March.

Jasminum nudiforum (winter jasmine). Non-scented yellow star-shaped flowers on bare green stems from November to March.

PERENNIALS

Iris foetidissima.

Architectural evergreen foliage with bright orange seeds, pictured right. ■ Helleborus orientalis hybrids (lenten rose).

Evergreen flowering February to April.

■ Iris unguicularis (Algerian iris). Flowers on short, bare stems through winter.