Most gardens look blank and gloomy in winter. How can we inject a bit of colour

A. It's true that most of us garden to enjoy it during the warmer months when we're going to spend most time outside.

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But this is a pity, because as well as being bracing, the winter garden can provide lots of inspiring colours and forms just when we need it the most. There are plenty of shrubs, climbers, bulbs and even herbaceous perennials that flower during the winter months and which can provide wonderful material to complement the holly and the ivy in the house during the festive season.

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A.� If your planting out an area to enjoy in the winter try and make it visible from the house so you can enjoy it from the warm as well as outside, or near a door or window where fragrant plants can welcome neighbours or drift into the house. Here are a few suggestions.

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A.� The lovely Cyclamen coum has become a firm national favourite at this time of year. Plant it under trees in drifts, under bushes or just at the front of borders and you'll enjoy their pink blooms from November to March.

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Snowdrops (Galanthus) are an integral part of any winter garden and you can complement them with crocus, winter aconite and later dwarf narcissi and daffodils.

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A.� Hellebores aren't called Christmas roses or Lentern roses for nothing. There is a huge range of hybrids now available with flowers ranging from deep purple to greeny-white.

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Another excellent winter flower is the little Iris unguicularis. It has strap like leaves and fragrant deep purple flowers that appear between November and March, but it does need a sheltered spot.

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A.� Grasses are excellent in the winter border, whether used as fillers or as the subject for group planting. Carex and the turquoise blue Festuca are excellent varieties.

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The jagged evergreen foliage of Mahonia comes into its own at this time of year with its clusters of tiny fragrant yellow flowers and the garden isn't complete without a Skimmia japonica. Its glossy leaves are a plus all year round and its red berries set them off perfectly in winter and are excellent for seasonal flower arrangements.

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And to cover walls and to train through now bear trellis the Clematis cirrhosa balearica is evergreen and sports bell like white flowers with purplish-red spots winter flowers. Try combining it with classic evergreen creepers like ivy.

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