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violets; they'll bloom all spring in sun or shade and any type of soil.March - AprilApril - May20 minutesHosta, e.g. Hosta 'Royal Golden Jubilee'Male fern, Dryopteris filix-masJapanese painted fern, Athyrium niponicum 'Pictum'Violet, such as 'Freckles

Take your house plants plants outside this summer and use them to create dramatic patio containers. Here, we've teamed purple heart with silvery helichrysum and the trailing silver-grey foliage with the bright-orange flowers of parrot's beak

or door for a limited period, while still allowing it to close. Don't plug into outdoor sockets if the transformer will be exposed.DecemberWinteran hour2 x 50cm-tall box cones8 x pink cyclamen8 x Senecio cineraria2 x 32cm Fibreclay square faux

Buying a camellia in flower lets you choose exactly the colour you want for your patio show-stopper. This single plant will give you delightful spring colour and its glossy, deep green foliage looks impressive all year round, even when its

Christmas tree branches (cut from the base while preparing the tree for outdoors)Greenery, stems and seed heads (gathered from the garden)Garden twineFishing line20 white battery operated LED lightsGather your bunch of greenery together and tie tightly

Topiary box pyramid, buxus sempervirensRed pansies x10Mattress vine, Muehlenbeckia complexa, or dark green ivy x1Tall decorative pot or Long TomCompost, made from equal parts of multi-purpose and loam-based compostsCrocksTwo sets of LED battery-operated fairy

The sweet-smelling irises should be in flower by late-winter if the weather is mild. Before then, you can enjoy the foliage combination of the needle-like iris, the filigree ivy and the crimped fern. If you plant up this container feature in autumn

-growing alpine phloxes are covered in blooms from late-spring to early summer, as is the glossy mat of saxifrage.March - April April - June20 minutesThrift, Armeria maritimaAlpine phlox, Phlox douglasii 'Lilac Cloud'Saxifrage, Saxifraga 'Triumph'Wall container

to remember to do and deadhead about 75% and leave some of the hips, thereby getting the best of both worlds. These are quite big shrubs, which grow to approximately 1.5m height and spread; the foliage is glossy (slightly bronzed when young) and the plants

plants that are tough, hairy and bitter. They'll choose lettuce over chicory, Brussels sprouts over sprouting broccoli, and chrysanthemums over dandelions. Then there are plants with hairy, glossy or waxy leaves, which prevent their tongues scraping away