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Being a caring fellow, I will ease you gently into a new year of gardening by telling you the story of my pyracantha.Pyracantha - or firethorn - is a much undervalued plant. It's a big spiny shrub, originally from China, and is most usually seen

out there that punch way, way above their weight when it comes to fragrance.As an example Sarcococca hookeriana, a sparky little evergreen shrub with deep maroony leaf stems and tiny white flowers like the tassels on a stripper. Last year I had one

irises.I digress; my favourite roses at the moment are the Hybrid Musk roses. They were mostly bred by the Rev. Joseph Pemberton in the early 20th Century and make great shrubs and small climbers. They are soft coloured, like cowrie pink 'Penelope', clean

and perfect. The frost, however, tends to accentuate every line; the branches of trees and shrubs are sprinkled with shards of ice that glint like tiny blades; things you never noticed before suddenly stand out.Wandering through the garden as the sun rises

.I did a big shrub planting for a client in the spring and for various reasons there was a hiatus between planting and erecting a fence. I have just walked round to see what had been nibbled and can report that there are three distinct groups. Firstly

on the island has a garden open to the public which has some fantastic trees and rare shrubs (including good collections of Olearias - particularly the exotically named phlogopappa and Rhododendrons). One part of the garden is called the Lighthouse garden

are passing, is an extraordinarily lovely tall shrub: similar in temperament and style to Katherine Hepburn in a good mood). The lawn therefore, is interesting, ticks some environmental boxes and has saved a lot of tedious marching up and down. (Although I

post-coital.But it is by no means all over as now the late summer perennials and shrubs (Rudbeckias, Asters, Ceratostigmas, Cimicifuga, Nicotiana sylvestris etc) kick in giving a second wind to borders.October comes and even the late

to the Caucasus (Iran, Turkey, Armenia and Greece) - not to be confused with the ornamental Japanese quince (Chaenomeles japonica) which is a great wall shrub.Do you remember the Greek myths about the Golden Apples of the Hesperides? Hercules' Eleventh Labour

at Ascot in a series of hats that were so extraordinary as to be very close to ridiculous (as well as being unsuited to wear in a stiff breeze); parrot tulips have the same combination of exhibitionism and impracticality. Another shrub that makes my heart