Create a winter garden wonderland

Some people like to pack up their plots for most of autumn and winter, preferring to tidy up and wait for warmer days before giving their garden a bright makeover.

But if you think about it, that’s four or five long months before you can enjoy your garden again – far too long for us keen gardeners!

Winter gardens can be really rewarding, cosy spaces with lots of bright colours and interest, so here are some key pointers to help your plot prosper now.

1. Add bold berries There are plenty of plants with a bounty of berries in autumn, and then there are the more useful shrubs and trees that hold onto their fruit all through winter, as if they know their colour is most welcome for much longer into the year.

There are small potted shrubs for the doorstep at garden centres such as gaultheria and skimmia, giving a dash of immediate dazzle, but look a little deeper for some more permanent berrying beauties in a range of colours.

Good solid choices are holly, cotoneaster or fiery orange, yellow and red pyracantha, or go a step further for something special.

Try American native Ilex verticillata, a deciduous holly with eye-catching crowds of red berries crammed along each naked stem. Look into buying both male and female plants to be sure of berries. Neon-purple callicarpa defies the season, while selected crab apples – while not strictly berries – keep their fruits all through winter, like the variety ‘Adirondack’.