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I'm always looking for plants that make an impact - things that will grab the attention and put on a good show. Seasonal bedding and bulbs are always popular, but many shrubs also grow well in patio pots.Over the years I've tried all sorts, from

Shade is probably one of the most challenging situations for plants to flourish in. Whether it's buildings, walls, fences, shrubs or trees, on the south side your plants bask in full sun but on the north side they'll be in cooler shade. Choosing

prefer a plant or two that few others have.One that caught my eye when it was first introduced by Hillier's 14 years ago is Sophora 'Sun King'. A chance seedling turned up in Hillier Arboretum, growing into this new garden-worthy shrub, and what a stunner

established shrubs carry crisp, brown leaves, and one has lost them all completely. What is normally a beautiful flowering shrub called Viburnum 'Mariesii' produced little bloom in May, since when the foliage has simply dried up and dropped off.Again, I

mainly flies), but in the past I've seen wasps and tortoiseshell butterflies eagerly making the most of this final feed of nectar before hibernating.Fatsia japonica is an exotic looking evergreen shrub with large glossy, lobed leaves. Despite its tropical

Conifer Growers are trying to persuade us all that there's a conifer for every garden, and we should all be growing more. National Conifer Week started last Saturday 3 October and runs through to Sunday 11 October, with a message to everyone that conifers

. A variegated shoot on a plain green shrub or a differently coloured bloom, for instance, could both be the beginning of a new variety. Garden centres are full of varieties discovered this way, but these characteristics must be stable in order

with the stuff, every shrub and fruit bush mulched with a thick layer, and still the overflowing buckets continued to come!I'm a keen home composter - who isn't these days - but I do still resort to buying in mushroom compost from time to time. If I lived near a

displays, and fruit to enjoy later this year. It's essential to prune wisteria twice a year. Once in the summer, shortening long, wispy new shoots to about 20cm (8in), and again in winter, pruning the same shoots further to roughly 5-7.5cm (2-3in

the furniture in your home, as pots can be moved from one place to another to create a fresh display.It helps to have a few hardy shrubs in pots, things that play their part in displays throughout the year. Then add in the seasonal performers, like bulbs