John Massey’s Ashwood Nurseries has been breeding superb hellebores for the past 35 years, and they are acknowledged to be the best in the world. It all began because John was looking for winter work

REAL readers' gardens!

Purple punctuates the planting: here an acer, verbena and some pinky-purple crinum, or swamp lily, stand out

This spring jewel is so wonderful when it pops up in gardens, whether it is planted in borders or in areas of grass – as it is just as happy in both. The foliage will start with a slight purple tone a

April’s palette turns electric when euphorbias unleash their vivid colours, often outlasting and outshining other spring favourites

The country’s Cape Floral Kingdom has incredible bloom diversity with around 9,000 species – and some make spectacular plants for our British gardens