Plant of the week

Arabis: Also known as rock cress, this is one of those pretty, small, white-flowering plants that help brighten late winter and early spring. The blooms can start to appear as early as December and continue till the following April, so this is the perfect plant for a rockery or scree garden. Arabis prefers poor but well-drained soil and plenty of sunshine. It’s very hardy but very small – if it reaches a height of six inches, then it’s done very well. But it grows to form well-behaved mats that are easy to propagate.