This time of year represents big business–and exhaustion–for the producers of festive fare, from crackers to hellebores to ham. Jane Wheatley visits six stalwarts who are flat out right now

Mahonia x media ‘Winter Sun’ Forgive me please because I have, in my youth, been a bit sneery about mahonias. I recognise that this was a mistake as they have an awful lot in their favour: colour at a

Step into a magical winter garden in the Weald of Kent, where cyclamens, hellebores and crocuses add splashes of pink and purple to the white carpet of snowdrops

Celebrate the season with garden greenery and indoor bulbs

Warm up chilly days with sizzling colour

Sustain beauty all winter with smart planting and bold choices