I really have to disagree with some of the comments made to me over the last few weeks that there isn't much colour in the garden at this time of year. In fact, I was so disheartened to hear people thinking this way that, at one point, I decided to prove them wrong and took a group of them for a stroll round the gardens at Natures World.

It didn't take us long to find colour. Within yards of starting our wander, we were halted in our tracks by a stunning gorse bush. OK, it's not usually found in most peoples' gardens but it was showing off its dazzling yellow stars with a chest-bursting pride. It not only looked good, it smelt wonderful too. Then there was the tiered Japanese flowering cherry, which isn't as gaudy pink as most cherries, but a subtle creamy pink. The comfrey in the composting area displayed nodding bells of blue and white. These were complimented by the similarly -shaped flowers of the lungwort, except these bells faced upwards.

Five yards further on, carpets of purple dead nettle provided a backdrop for the bright blue spires of grape hyacinth. The scent of wallflowers hit us before we saw the splashes of red, oranges and yellow. Every vista contained floods of daffodils. After just 50 yards we had counted at least 37 varieties of plants in glorious full bloom. I won my argument, but more importantly the visitors went away with a prettier outlook on their horticultural surroundings.

Have you ever noticed that each season has a main colour theme? I know that there are other colours intermingling with the most prolific one, and that you do have to make great generalisations, but this is the pattern as I see it.

The year starts out white with snowdrops, Christmas rose, Viburnum and sweet box. Then come the yellows with the daffodils, primroses, forsythia, broom and gorse. This is followed by blue with grape hyacinths, anemones, blue bells and the big border plants such as delphinium and lupin. Pink tends to follow blue with hardy geraniums, traditional roses, lavatera and astilbe. Then towards autumn come the fiery oranges in the form of crocosmia, knifophia, various berries and the kaleidoscope of leaf changes.

The most important colour of all though is green. Green is traditionally a restful, regenerative and inspirational colour. Green isn't just green. There is the light creamy green of the emerging medlar and quince trees. Or the fresh yellowy spring green of the poached egg plant or the griselinia. There is the deep dark green of Viburnum and the more metallic blue-green of alliums, as well as, of course, grass green.

There is no excuse not to have colour in your garden at any time of the year. It may take a little planning but it's not difficult. Take a walk around your neighbourhood, the plant centres, parks and gardens. Make a note of anything that is in flower at the moment. Go home and see if you could squeeze any more plants into your borders, and if so, try to visualise some of those that you have just seen in the gaps. It needn't be too expensive either. Shrubs like Forsythia will root very easily from a piece of stem cut off from the main bush.

I'm not suggesting that you make night raids into your neighbour's garden. Gardeners tend to be very generous people, and want to pass on the happiness that plants give them. Just ask and more than likely they will oblige with a cutting or two. They usually go on to get you other little bit and pieces to fill up your borders as well.

Published: 13/04/2002