Pruning often seems a rather daunting mystery and yet it is a skill that must be mastered, particularly in the small garden, if plants are to look their best and keep in scale with your space. Our simple guide explains what to do at this time of year.

Herbaceous plants with their great variation in size, texture and colour can bring interest and drama to any garden space. They generally die back over the winter, start growing in spring and flower from May to October or even through to December. Some of the more architectural forms and seed heads provide attractive features through the winter too, especially when edged with frost. Our simple instructions will help you establish your border and keep it looking good for years to come.

Wonderful displays of vibrant colour, beds of firework brilliance, rare specimens to marvel at and treasures to be acquisitive over – all of these await you. All you need is simple equipment and seeds, to take your containers or flower beds into another dimension. Here is some timely advice to get you sowing.

Baby it’s cold outside …and although many plants can withstand changing temperatures, now is the time to protect your most precious plants from the damage that can be caused by flood, frost, drying cold winds and even heavy falls of snow.

We all invest a great deal of money and time in the plants that we buy, but sometimes we ignore the most vital thing that will bring success- that is the soil into which we plant our treasures.

Now is the time to get started if you wish to create a new lawn or add some new sections to an existing area. A lawn made using seed or turf can be an inexpensive way of giving a quick face-lift to your garden.

Take care- saving your own seed is likely to become addictive- especially as you can collect seeds from almost all your garden plants to create brightly coloured borders or delicious vegetable plots.

Whether you have a postage stamp or a large expanse, the lawn is an integral part of the picture you are trying to create in your garden. A well-kept lawn enhances the impact of plants quite dramatically. A simple care regime will help make this a reality.

Perennials keep coming back year after year, in the garden but also in designers’ sketchbooks.

Mulches have a whole range of benefits in the garden. They suppress weeds; help to retain moisture in the upper layer of the soil by reducing evaporation; can prevent capping and erosion of the soil by rain or heavy watering and help to regulate soil temperature in both hot and cold weather.