Fancy growing something a bit unusual? Then give chickpeas a try. They need a sheltered, sunny site with free-draining soil. Warm the ground with cloches or fleece before sowing. If you have heavy cla

As well as being a visual feast, a garden can become a fragrant haven, says Heloise Brooke, head gardener at the National Trust’s Calke Abbey in Derbyshire. Here, she advises on plants to include for year-round perfume promise

Formerly known as Dicentra spectabilis, bleeding heart (Lamprocapnos spectabilis), is a Chinese plant bearing pink-red, heart-shaped flowers with white tips that hang from arching flower stems in late

Don’t wait for summer to realise your garden’s not up to scratch. The best time to sort your green space is now

In the garden, hellebores and snowdrop bulbs are emerging through the wintry ground, while beyond, in borrowed views, dangling catkins and blossom-laden blackthorn branches sway in the hedgerows. Thes

Make more plants this month by dividing perennials, sowing hardy annuals and planting summer bulbs