Visit winter gardens at this time of year to inspire you with beautiful ideas to take home and recreate in your own patch.
Among the best is Anglesey Abbey in Cambridgeshire, where coloured stems, delicate winter flowers and architectural silhouettes make a dazzling display. Recreate their famous black-and-white schemes at home by planting a small glade of slender white Jacquemontii silver birch surrounded by a carpet of deepest purple bergenia. You can pick up both at our garden centre.
At Dunham Massey, in Cheshire, it's all about dogwoods: their bare red and orange stems contrast beautifully with the whiteness of birch stems. Follow their example by always planting dogwoods in groups, and coppicing hard every other year to get those brilliant young stems.
Finally no list of winter gardens is complete without mentioning Stourhead, in Wiltshire: a glorious lesson in how the bare bones of a garden work to make it look beautiful even in the coldest months. It might seem a bit grand to relate to your own plot, but in fact there are plenty of tips to take home. The importance of evergreens for year-round colour, the beauty of topiary and well-placed focal points are important principles whether you're gardening in rolling acres or a few square feet.
