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, there are no articles about that other winter stalwart, the aconite, and I intend to rectify that right now.Eranthis hyemalis is the egg yolk-yellow flower we see clustered around trees in February. It is shorter than its chum the snowdrop but has wider, more

When we think of irises our minds tend to wander towards May and great swathes of big, brassy flowers over sharp-sided, sword-shaped leaves. Either that or drifts of yellow flag iris on the sides of pools and streams. We tend to ignore February. Big mistake.One of the very earlie...

in the back of my car overnight; the plant was young and had only a single flower but the scent in the car was almost unbearable. Like being dipped in vanilla. Another corker is winter-flowering honeysuckle, Lonicera fragrantissima. Not a climber but a medium

dappled ash. So in order to sharpen your winter brains I thought that a short quiz would be interesting. Can you identify the following trees from their bark? I have given hints for some...A simple tree to start with.This tree bark looks quite like

Do you have an autumn clear-up in your garden? Do you cut down all your herbaceous stuff so that everything is tidy for the winter or do you leave everything until the new year? Most people nowadays leave it until later to give food for small birds

Does it matter what one wears for gardening? Obviously most people look for warmth in winter, cool in summer and comfort all year; elegance is not really much of a consideration. My father-in-law, for example, has a waxed jacket which is more hole

around 10pm and by the next morning it had all gone. All well and good except that we have a bit of a British Rail problem - it was completely the wrong type of snow. Instead of being light, fluffy cotton-woolly snow this was wet and heavy. As a result

on a frosty day is one of the greatest pleasures. The winter is when evergreens come into their own and the frost just makes yews look even better. Hedges seem to be draped with diamonds and the shiny leaves of box glisten. There is not a great deal

Do you know a tree called Parrotia persica? At this time of year it is a light among the gloom. Most trees are without leaves in winter and there is only so much satisfaction that you can get from a tracery of damp twigs. About now I start dreaming

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