Brighten up your garden

Okay, so when it comes to the time when it's chilly outside it does not mean your garden can´t look cheery. Spend a few hours potting up winter flowers and you cna enjoy them from the warmth of indoors all through the winter months.

It's a good idea to place containers in a sheltered spot away from the wind. Stack them and they will also be safe from ground frost.

Universal Pansies are the number one choice for winter, and pot them, forking in plenty of nutrients into a quality potting compost and add a slow release fertiliser.

If the weather is frosty, move pots into the garage or shed to protect them. Terracotta and ceramic pots can crack if the compost inside them freezes, so protect them with a layer of bubble wrap.

Choice plants for winter pots in sheltered areas are the dense purple Aster x frikartii `Monch`, but once the frost sets in take the post indoors. The one plant that can survive, frost, rain and snow though are Cyclamen coum - they thrive in the coldest weather conditions.

And if you want a good climber when every other plant in your garden has gone to sleep, your best best is Clematis cirrhosa ´Freckles´, which is pale yellow with brown specks - perfect for that dull fence.

Gardening Explained: Learn the Lingo

Take control of your garden by getting to know the basics. Find out the way to support climbers and how to keep lawns weed-free.

Learn the lingo:
Many plants are able to scale the heights without support, but others will be crying out for help. There are two types of plants that need a helping hand: climbers and varieties with weak stems.

Trellis is one of the most attractive supports for climbers such as clematis and honeysuckle. Fix these lattice-work wood frames on to walls and fences or erect free standing panels.

To make more of a feature of your climbing plants, you could choose a permanent structure such as a pergola, arch, gazebo or pillar. The plants will probably need tying in to the structure at intervals, but they will have free range to spread at will.

Use bamboo canes for individual plants. Delphiniums will appreciate this sort of support. Tie in the stems with soft garden twine at intervals.

Removing lawn weeds:
Dig out persistent weeds before they make themselves at home in your lawn. No one minds the odd daisy, but it's best to root out the less attractive visitors once you spot them.

1) Use a hand trowel to dig out perennial weeds. Remove every bit of the root, especially the long tap root of dandelions.
2) You will have a hole in your lawn where the weed had settled. Level this by adding a little potting compost, which will also enrich the soil. Mix it in well.
3) Spinkle grass seed over the bare patch. Mix it into the soil surface to ensure it is evenly spaced and just covered with soil. Water with a fine hose.
4) To speed up germination and keep the birds off, spread a sheet of clear polythene over the patch and peg in place. Remove this once the seedlings start to emerge.

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Climbers - Versatile plants for versatile sites

A mantle of gentle flowers or luxuriant foliage brightens up dull walls and adds beauty to many other garden structures.

Practical and ornamental climbing plants bring a pleasurable extra dimension to gardens, clothing walls, arches, pergolas, screens and even trees and shrubs with their flowers and foliage. They can be used to conceal unattractive features, provide privacy and help to integrate house and garden.

Many climbers produce spectacular blooms, including Clematis and Rosa. Others are grown for their attractive foliage, such as Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper), or for their colourful fruits, such as Celastrus orbiculatus.

Some climbing plants will cling unaided to a support; Hedera (ivy) uses aerial roots and Parthenocissus has sucker pads. However, most ascend by tendrils, like Lathyrus, by curling leafstalks, like Clematis, by twinning stems, like Lonicera (honey-suckle), or by hooked thorns, like roses. All these plants will climb unaided through the branches of trees or shrubs but need training on wires or up a trellis if grown against a wall.

Although they are not true climbers, some shrubs, including Ceanothus (California lilac) and Jasminum nudiflorum (winter jasmine), can also be trained against a support.

The extensive range of climbers means there is a choice of plants for most garden situations. Pasiflora (passion flower) and Trachelospermum require a sunny and sheletered site but Jasminum officinale (summer jasmine) and Clematis montana thrive in shady or sunny areas. Ivy or Hydrangea anomala sp petiolaris (climing hydrangea) are tough enough to cope with an exposed, shady position.

I have 2 Bougainvilleas - one purple and one pink. 2 Jasmine plants, a Plumbago. One white and one purple Pasflora.