your space
Try our pick of the most beautiful plants that are perfect for this time of year
3 SURPRISING IVIES
If you need something to cover an ugly wall, Hedera algeriensis is the answer, with lovely large leaves in camouflage colours.
■ Height & Spread 4m
■ £15.99/3L pot
Also known as ‘Paddy’s Pride’, this Hedera colchica effortlessly brightens a dark corner with huge heart-shaped leaves.
■ Height & Spread 5m
■ £9.96/9cm pot
Some of these variegated leaves, edged in cream, are fabulously puckered and crinkled. Easy even in dry shade, this well-behaved Hedera helix can be grown as a climber or groundcover.
■ Height & Spread 1m
■ £17.99/3L pot
MADEIRAN SQUILL
Add a touch of loveliness
Until recently, striking Scilla madeirensis blooms were the preserve of Madeira’s rocky cliffs and botanical gardens, but the bulbs are now available to buy and we love them! So quick and easy to grow, the dark amethyst-purple bulb can be planted indoors this month and, quite incredibly, in six weeks or so you’ll be enjoying sparkling lavender-blue cones of flowers atop 30cm stalks. It’s the perfect antidote to winter gloom and would make a great present.
■ Height 50cm Spread 20cm
■ £5.95/1 bulb
WINTER PICK-ME-UP
Looking out at a bleak garden through the kitchen window? Pull out the big guns and plant a New Zealand flax (Phormium cookianum) for instant impact. With arching leaves in pink, red, green or bronze, it makes a truly heroic statement in any winter garden. Plant in a pot of peat-free multipurpose compost with added John Innes, mixing in a couple of handfuls of perlite or fine horticultural grit to improve drainage. Pop your pot in
