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, letting plants use up moisture until the compost has dried up and they die down. Then I leave the dormant tubers in their dry compost over winter, which I hope insulates them from cold.Memo to myself: Remember to start the gloriosa tubers into growth

.So, what's left? Thankfully, I was tempted to buy a couple of hardy evergreen ferns from Fernatix while at Gardeners' World Live a few years ago and now, planted in tall terracotta pots, they take pride of place on my patio during winter.Ferns have rotten

These cold, dark winter evenings are costing me a small fortune. Not in heating costs for my greenhouse, or for electricity to light up the front of the house with decorations bright enough to be seen from the International Space Station.No, it

at this time of year. Ever wondered why it appears so early and what it is for? If you have no wish to know, or are easily offended by descriptions of sexual congress between plants, then this would be a good point to stop reading and mosey off somewhere else

Last summer I discovered a twining, tender climber called Lophospermum, or lofos. I bought two varieties, 'Burgundy Falls' and 'Summer Cream' (both pictured left), as plug plants from a mail-order seed company. I grew my lofos under cover, in 7

. capillipes and A. grosseri.Cornus florida: a dogwood, but a long way from the red- and green-stemmed varieties we plant for a splash of winter colour. This one is a stunning plant that has green flowers surrounded by white bracts. These look like petals

and forgot about ... even though I had written it down. I have a largish group of the musk rose, 'Penelope', which flowers beautifully in June. If you leave it it will set some fine hips for the winter but there will be no more flowers. Last year I vowed

these plants flowering perfectly happily halfway up someone's house, but completely flowerless at or near eye-level.In order to keep the flowers where you can enjoy them, it's necessary to prune them back each winter. I do mine at the same time as I prune

Shade can be a nightmare if your heart is set on growing summer bedding, fruit and veg, or Mediterranean plants, which need direct sun to flourish. But there are plenty of beautiful plants which thrive in shady conditions.Many people imagine

the fruiting stems. New shoots will soon emerge, and next year's fruit will be produced on these one-year-old, ripened canes. Autumn varieties fruit on this year's new growth, so cut these back in winter, and they'll generate new wood in spring