AUTUMN colour has now passed and we are into that very damp cold in-between season when nothing in the garden inspires. Only a few golden star-like blossoms on the winter jasmine give any indication that there might be some prospect of floral pleasure to come.

Once we get into December things will improve, for there are many hardy plants which provide colour and fragrance during the winter and which can be accommodated in the modern garden.

The majority are available from garden centres growing in containers and so can be planted at anytime. Indeed, if you plant now, you can ensure something of a display during the next few months.

If space is a problem, then look carefully at the variety of winter heaths on offer. Often referred to erroneously as heathers, there are numerous beautiful varieties which can be grown in a confined area. Some are suitable for window boxes.

King George is a very compact kind with rosy-red flowers from Christmas until March, while Springwood White and Springwood Pink make a valuable show from mid-January to April. During the next few weeks it will be possible to choose pot grown plants in flower at the garden centre.

Witch hazels are another reliable group of winter flowering beauties. Exceptionally hardy, they produce brightly coloured blossoms with delicately twisted petals on bold naked branches. Hamamelis mollis is the common yellow kind, but hybrids like Pallida, with lemon coloured flowers, the crimson-red Diane and coppery-orange Jelena are becoming increasingly popular. Witch hazels produce the most intense golden foliage display in the autumn.

Viburnum bodnantense is also widely planted, but unlike the witch hazels which may take a year or two to become really well established, this flowers freely from quite a small size. Eventually growing eight or ten feet high, it is wreathed in pink, intensely fragrant flowers from November to March. The Californian Garrya elliptica also flowers for a long period, but unlike the viburnum is not fragrant. A tidy evergreen, this has clusters of long silvery-grey catkins. From the point of view of blossoms it is the Cornelian cherry which should be grown. If planted now you will be rewarded with an eruption of soft yellow which continues from early in the New Year until March.

Philip Swindells

WHAT'S NEW

Sweetie is a dwarf strain of sweet peas developed for hanging baskets.

The Rapitest Compost Bin consists of a rot proof material with aeration holes which can be built to any shape with the accompanying locking pegs.

Brilliant is an excellent early cropping Brussels sprout. It can be harvested from September onwards.

Q I have saved some seeds from my runner beans. Can I use them to raise plants next year?

A Yes, providing that you keep them dry and cool for the winter months.

Q I have an overgrown hebe. When can I prune it?

A Lightly trim now if overgrown, but the main pruning should be left until mid-April.