It may seem the best displays are over and there is just lots of tidying up and battening down to be done at this time of year but our gardens can still provide offerings to delight our eyes and our nostrils through the dormant winter months.

I used to think that if it didn’t flower it wasn’t worth having in the garden but I now realise flowering is only a small part of what a plant/tree or shrub can offer.

After the flowers and leaves have fallen, bark and stems with unusual textures and colours are revealed which can be equally as interesting and last for much longer. Scents are also so much more noticeable and appreciated when you catch them in the clear, crisp winter air.

Stems:

For a rich mahogany-red you can’t beat the bark of the Prunus serrula tree (Tibetan cherry), which also has beautiful blossom in spring. For bright white bark it has to be Betula (silver birch) and for year round interest you can’t beat Acer palmatum ‘Sango-kaku’ (coral-bark maple) which has pale green, deep cut leaves that turn yellow in autumn followed by coral-red shoots for the winter.

The brightly coloured orange-red and yellow young shoots of Cornus sanguinea ‘Midnight Fire’ (dogwood) are a great addition to your winter selection or Salix alba var. vitellina (Golden willow) has eye catching brilliant yellow stems or ’Britzensis’ (Orange willow) if orange stems are your fancy.

Scents:

Chimonanthus praecox - wintersweet - may not flower for a couple of years but be patient as it will be worth the wait for this wonderful spicy scent and waxy yellow flowers with maroon streaks on the inner petals.

Daphne bholua has fragrant purplish-pink and white flowers great for brightening a shady border allow a space to accommodate its height of 8ft and 4ft wide reached over 10 years. Preferring acid to neutral soils Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Arnold Promise’ AGM witch hazel displays pretty yellow flowers on its bare woody stems.

And lastly but certainly not least my absolute favourite Sarcocca confusa (sweet box) this little evergreen shrub has the most sweetly scented creamy-white flowers followed by glossy black berries.

Tulip before its Tu-late!

Last chance to get those tulips in preferably before the end of November, tulips are planted later than the other spring bulbs to help reduce problems with tulip fire. Plant at least twice the bulbs width apart and two or three times the depth of the bulbs height.