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.

■

Flowers on short, bare stems through winter.

Iris unguicularis (Algerian iris).