Wonders for winter

It is a beautiful day as I write. A heavy frost has left the garden covered in a sparkling layer of white that catches the light as the sun comes through the clouds.

Everything looks quite different outside and the plants still intact are dusted with rime, which highlights the texture of the leaves and seedheads.

The long stems of Euphorbia characias subsp. wulfenii are evergreen and they lean towards the sun as they grow.

Foliage is soft, grey-green and at the top of each new stem are the beginnings of the flowers, which will open in early spring, to greet the new season with a startling splash of bright, yellow-green.

This useful plant is interesting all year round, coming to the fore in spring, acting as a foil for other plants in summer then returning to the front of the stage once again in winter.

It is sometimes considered to grow too large for a small garden but I think it gives drama and height and, planted in a hot, dry, sunny spot, will last for years with only a little input every now and again to keep it looking good.

Sedum spectabile is completely different, the leaves died back some weeks ago. The spent flowers are left behind and will remain on the plant for most of the winter, catching the frost and coming up through any snow we might have. Looking at the stiff, brown, woody stems topped with dry, reddish flowers it is hard to believe they were, only a short while ago, thick and fleshy and held above a mound of soft, succulent leaves.

In common with the euphorbia, this sedum is also useful in the garden all year round. A small rosette of leaves appears in spring, gradually increasing in size among spring bulbs, forget-me-nots and wallflowers. Then, as they die back in early summer, the rosette becomes a large clump of fleshy, light green leaves that are cold to the touch, giving the plant its popular name of Ice Plant. Flowers, in white or shades of pink, are carried in late summer and into autumn, attracting butterflies, bees and hoverflies on warm, sunny days. As the flowers die the stems become woody and the blooms dry while the foliage dies back and the plant takes on its winter form.

A few leaves on the variegated dogwood we have growing in the garden are clinging on to the stems but are fighting a losing battle and will soon have to relinquish their hold.

This dogwood is grown for both its foliage and coloured stems and because of this, doesn't necessarily have to be cut back as hard as species grown simply for their winter stems.

However, I have found it to be quite a vigorous shrub with many stems that soon fill the space it is allocated in our small front garden.

The foliage is very attractive - pale green and cream with small bunches of white flowers in summer - and doesn't seem to be diminished by hard pruning. This is done in March when all the branches are cut back to about 15cm from the ground.

They soon grown back and within a few months a shapely bush has formed and the developing dark red stems will give a focal point to the garden throughout winter.

- In The Garden returns on Saturday January 3

Updated: 16:29 Friday, December 19, 2003