When the temperature drops, how do Britain’s birds, beasts and plants keep the chill at bay? John Lewis-Stempel reveals Nature’s own thermals

The garden in winter can often seem like something to be endured rather than enjoyed for gardeners who dash to garden centres at Easter, departing with cars brimful of petunias and bags of compost. Bu

Plants that glitter brightly under a layer of frost

John and Jenny Brett have created an all-year garden design at St Mary’s, combining formal plant structures with colourful insect-friendly perennials, but in winter, when dusted with white and dancing with shadows, the garden shimmers

The quiet beauty of winter sets the stage in this garden, where topiary shapes and the borrowed landscape are the main performers

October brings the first of the frosts, bewitching mist, the turning of leaves and a host of otherworldly visitors, finds John Lewis-Stempel