February’s Post

Many of our gardens have been battered by a second hard British winter in a row, but this is a chance to reassess borders.

Try reintroducing old favourites better equipped to deal with cold winters as alternatives to slightly tender plants.

Olive and bay trees may fail in freezing conditions, so instead plant standard Elaeagnus ‘Quicksilver’ AGM, the evergreens Ilex aquifolium ‘JC van Tol’ AGM or Viburnum tinus ‘Gwenllian’ AGM.

In exposed gardens, try lacy purple or yellow-leaved elderberry (Sambucus nigra) instead of Japanese maples. Plant shrubby lilac Syringa x laciniata or Erysimum ‘Bowles’s Mauve’ AGM instead of rosemary.

Dormant shrubs and perennials allow you to assess the need for structure. Trees with eye-catching bark, such as birches and maples, are beautiful all year.

If flowers are your passion, choose for a succession of seasonal colour.

Measuring and drawing the garden should clarify plans; view the garden from inside the house and from different angles.

Consider moving or replacing damaged, overgrown or badly placed shrubs.