hot p(l)ants: winter aconite, eranthis hyemalis

In their original environments, invasive plants are restrained by their natural adversaries, with whom they co-evolved. However, when they are introduced to a new environment without these natural enemies, some plants can flourish and spread uncontrollably, ultimately becoming invasive.

Are you dreaming of an exotic garden full of flowers with hard to pronounce names that will awe your guests? An understandable dream. But most tropical green life are not meant to grow in the weather conditions that the UK offers.

Winter is coming, and with it come gardeners fretting over frostbitten plants and damaged crops. Fear not, ladies and gentlemen – let’s introduce you to our extensive guide on how to protect plants in winter.

Winter season doesn’t mean you have to turn your back to your flower garden until spring comes. There is a good number of plants that bloom beautifully even in the coldest of weather. Let’s dig into their world and see which ones you will fancy.

I am going to Madeira for a sunny break before the gardening gets tougher. I hope to sample the orchids that grow on the islands and even bring home the occasional example.

‘Centrdenia-purple-glory?’

Some flowers look best in groups or large swathes. These fields of cultivated Lavender demonstrate the point clearly. Imagine the scent from all these individual stems of flowers a heady experience. For commercial purposes growing in rows makes Lavender easier to mechanically crop and maintain.

In the cold wet winter it is a good time to plan where to visit as the year improves. The South West is the obvious place to start your visiting tour of gardens containing exotic plants.

Here in the UK it feels very much like the depth of a wet winter. It is gwetting a bit lighter in the morning and there is little colour in the garden. It’s hard to imagine in a few more weeks, the garden will spring to life. I hope the gardener springs into life too!

It is the season for houseplants and this Solanum capsicastrum was raised from seed probably in a Dutch hothouse for the UK’s pre Christmas market.

The late season flowering of Cyclamen is just one of the reasons to grow these useful flowers. There are many species of Cyclamen and below is a special selection for Autumn and Winter flowering.

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