RHS Rosemoor

Many of us dread the onset of winter, as these days we never quite know what is going to get thrown at us!

However, winter remains one of my favourite gardening seasons – a time to gather thoughts, to look back at the busy seasons and to have a good tidy up in preparation for spring to burst the garden back into life.

Many people think that there is not much to see in a garden over winter, but here at RHS Garden Rosemoor, we like to feel the garden has something to offer at any time of the year.

When the leaves have fallen from the trees and shrubs in autumn and all the herbaceous borders have been cut back, the "structure" of the garden is revealed, visible for all to appreciate.

This is quite often overlooked and can be considered to be the backbone holding the garden together, enhancing the drama and display. Plants and man-made features are used at Rosemoor to portray this.

Within the Formal Garden, various different plants are used as hedges and are used to great effect to create the "formal" ambiance to the garden, designed with regularity and trimmed to perfection.

These also help to create "garden rooms", giving definition to different areas, providing a sense of discovery as people turn the many corners and allowing us to highlight different plant groups with a soft transition between themes.

Using a mix of plants helps to create contrast, especially during the winter months, evergreen Taxus baccata AGM, 'English Yew', has for centuries been used as a manicured finely clipped hedge within the English landscape; its rich dark green foliage brings colour to the winter landscape. Along our herbaceous borders, which are all cut back and put to bed over winter, we have planted yew sentinels. These follow the long path mirroring each other and give stature to the plantings.

Another useful hedging plant is Fagus sylvatica AGM, 'European Beech'. This can be used well in a formal setting and although not evergreen, the crispy brown leaves stay on the clipped hedge until spring; they provide another texture in the landscape and make a fantastic rustling sound in a light wind.

Conifers help to create atmosphere, adding texture, colour and structure to the plantings. Many people shy away from planting these, as they are something you need to choose carefully for your garden; many become quite large but you should be able to find something suitable for your available space.

Thuja occidentalis 'Smaragd' AGM is a slow-growing conical conifer used to great effect each side of the entrance to our Foliage Garden. With its erect sprays of bright green foliage, this tree, which is said to reach only about 3m in height and less than a metre in width, is great for small spaces.

Another conical conifer we grow in the Stone Garden (in the original part of Lady Anne's garden) is Sciadopitys verticillata 'Pygmy'. This is a very small conifer commonly called the "Japanese Umbrella Pine". Originating in Japan, it has swirls of dark green spiky foliage looking somewhat like an umbrella. It is extremely slow growing and would be more suited to pot culture or a rock garden.

People always want to know what to grow for winter interest and, with this in mind, we have an area in the Formal Garden displaying lots of suitable plants; the Winter Garden.

Although this area looks great throughout the whole year, the plants' main attributes come alive during the winter months.

Again, it is keeping a balance between evergreens for structure, shrubs with early flowers, trees for bark, coloured stems and a ground cover of flowering heaths. Evergreens are in abundance here and we are fortunate to have a Plant Heritage Collection of hollies. Ilex crenata, 'Japanese Holly' or 'Box-leaved Holly', comes in many cultivars which vary in eventual size and foliage colour. These can form a great backdrop showing off striking stem or bark colours planted in front.

We have planted a group of Acer griseum AGM with cinnamon peeling bark, aptly named "Paper Bark Maple", my absolute favourite tree for bark effect. It is a deciduous tree originating from China so totally hardy to all that the British climate can throw at it, producing stunning crimson autumn colour and becoming a relatively small tree of about 10m in height at maturity.

Flowering shrubs not only produce colour but scent on a dull winter's day; none does it better than Sarcococca or "Sweet Box" as it is commonly known. This is an evergreen shrub with many species and cultivars available, it attains about 2m in height and the same in spread.

Originating from China and the Himalayas it is quite a useful plant, able to grow in shade and under trees. Its surprising feature is the insignificant hidden white flowers, but the scent is very sweet and powerful, and it is good to plant near a path or window.

Colourful stems are a must for a garden, creating stunning vibrant colours in the low winter sun.

Cornus, (the "Dogwoods"), are well-known for this feature and although new varieties are being bred the two best in my mind have been around for some time.

Cornus alba 'Sibirica' AGM has stunning cerise stems and Cornus sericea 'Flaviramea' AGM vibrant green stems.

A tip to keep the colours bright is to prune each year towards the end of March to ground level. Here in the South West, we get enough re-growth for another great display in autumn.

So now, with the mild weather we are currently having, look at your garden and see if you can add some extra interest.

Now is the right time to buy in and plant some exciting things to brighten up and revitalise that dull corner.