For winter colour and interest, you can’t beat the hardy cyclamen. These little gems will brighten up the darker months with a sprinkling of pink and white. They die back and lie dormant in warm weather, popping up again when temperatures drop. Despite their dainty appearance, they flower away through frost and snow and when happy will eventually self-seed and spread around, carpeting shady spots. Flowering from late December, Cyclamen coum flowers are a sign that a fresh New Year is on its way. The rounded, dark green leaves with white or silver markings appear first, so they’ll already have been growing from October. These tiny cyclamen look wonderful en mass, and are perfect for naturalising around the base of deciduous trees and are gorgeous with snowdrops, crocuses and other shade lovers such as ferns. The flowers of Cyclamen coum tend to be magenta pink, but come in a range of pinks to pure white. For something more unusual try varieties such as C. coum ‘The ‘Pewter Group’ which have a silvery coating on the …

Dahlias are back in fashion in a big way, sales are up and there are thousands of posts of these dramatic beauties on Instagram. Once only grown on the allotments or in a dahlia bed for flower shows and flower arranging, they’re now being used mingled amongst perennials, ornamental grasses and shrubs in borders. The darker, richer colours look great in tropical schemes, working well with lush large-leaved plants. Dahlias come in an enormous array of colours from deep velvety purples to pale peach and corals, as well as hot and pastel pinks, whites, creams, yellows and reds (just no blue). There is also a huge range of forms from spiky cactus and anemones, simple single-flowers and stars, pom poms and massive dinner plate varieties. They can be very tall or for smaller gardens, dwarf varieties are ideal. In terms of care, tubers are traditionally dug up in autumn, dried off and stored over winter to be planted out in spring. But you can leave them in the ground, mulched thickly, especially in London if …