Long overlooked and unfairly maligned, these tough, colourful and low-maintenance plants deliver year-round structure and style

The days might be cold and grey but your outside space can still bring you joy – there are sturdy, vigorous plants that will fill it with beauty and heart-lifting colour…

For instant impact in a newly landscaped garden, there’s nothing quite like planting mature trees or native hedgerow plants for transformative and long-lasting results, believes Steven Desmond

Adding a magical element to any garden on a frosty winter’s day, topiary offers interest all year round, as well as the chance to demonstrate some creative clipping, says Jen Harbrow, senior gardener at the National Trust’s Hinton Ampner in Hampshire

If you want to plant a light woodland–perhaps underplanted with wild primroses and bluebells–or are looking for a luminous specimen tree for the garden, consider a birch, advises Charles Quest-Ritson

Mike Palmer shares his suggestions for creating sharp shapes and year-round structure in the garden