Although the winter can often seem like a dull season in the garden, careful planting during the year will ensure there is colour and interest to enjoy from your window as you take a well earned break from gardening. We are nearly always asked for year-round interest when planning planting schemes for clients, so their garden can be a source of pleasure during the winter months, too.

Evergreens are a natural backbone for this, and ‘green’ is far from the only colour they can offer. Variegated hollies provide splashes of yellow and white along with their berries (remember the female plant needs a male nearby for berries and variety names can be deceiving so check the label!), while Photinia ‘Red Robin’ is a beautiful shrub, the young red leaves an extra special treat around Christmas time. Beautiful glossy green foliage also gives a wonderful backdrop for a wide mixture of other plants which continue to look great throughout the year. The brightly coloured stems of different Dogwoods (Cornus sp.) almost seem to glow, red and yellow in the winter light.

If you have room, plant the large shrub Viburnum bodnantense near a path so you catch the sweet scent from its pretty pink flowers. Daphne mezereum is a smaller option which combines dark pink flowers with a lovely fragrance. Another alternative, which will take a pruning to keep it in check, is winter flowering box (Sarcococca)- watch your visitors try and work out where the lovely perfume is coming from, as its small flowers are inconspicuous and hidden.

Various other plants flower over-winter, giving much appreciated glimpses of colour then. Plant starry flowered winter flowering jasmine against a dark fence or wall. There are several varieties of honeysuckle which flower now, so ask at your local garden centre. Also remember the decorative effect of berries can be wonderful, and although the birds may well ensure that your enjoyment of them is short-lived, they can be a joy in themselves as you watch them squabble for a feed!

Hellebores flower from mid-winter through into spring, joining the first flowers of the New Year, snowdrops, crocus and winter aconites, to brighten the long dark days as we look forward to spring and a new gardening year beginning again.