This issue we’ve combined all the best bits of winter gardening to bring you our festive Christmas Special. There are seasonal plants to colour up your Christmas, natural decorations to make a cheerier interior, advice on caring for Christmas houseplants and how to layer spring bulbs in a terracotta pot – the ideal gift for someone special. December is your last chance for bulb planting in pots outside.
Our reader gardens are especially inspiring this month – showing how to use evergreens, flowering shrubs, colourful dogwoods, grasses, hellebores and winter bulbs to bring your own garden to life at this dreary time. We have never needed these precious flowers more!
Celebrate fading beauties As plants die back they still offer lingering colour, shape and texture
Be inspired by… A seasonal hanging basket, festive shopping, easy plant names, woolly mulch, GLOW festivals and wishlist plants
Colour up your Christmas! Enjoy the festive season indoors and out. Here’s our favourites for winter wow
Make a stylish rustic wreath Combine seedheads, dried fruit, orchids, cones and feathers
Grow majestic miscanthus Silver fountains, soft feathers and morning light – miscanthus conjures up a picture of elegance
Decorate with hips and haws These seasonal fruit add a flash of natural opulence to decorations at Christmas
What to do this month Plant shrubs, protect tender plants, clean the greenhouse and care for Christmas houseplants
Layer bulbs for pots of perfection Pack a terracotta pot with layers of bulbs for a spring spectacular that lasts for weeks
Choose plants that age with grace Winter brings a shift of gear but plants can still look beautiful while they’re dying back
“Our garden looks fabulous all year round” Grasses, cornus and colourful evergreens are the mainstay of this winter garden
“I like to let the plants lead the way” Within its crisp framework of hedges, trees and topiary, self-sowers are slowly colonising this pretty cottage garden
Get the look The winter walk at Cambridge University Botanic Gardens is full of planting ideas to steal this month
“My garden is my lockdown sanctuary” With new seaside plants, bee borders and a visit from a nightjar, Adrian Thomas’s garden flourished in the pandemic
“Do bees need weeds?” Learn the secrets of bees, slugs and ants, and discover their roles in the garden
Treat yourself to rhubarb Kickstart the season by forcing a few tender pink sticks of this perennial favourite
Ask Garden Answers Our experts answer your gardening queries
How can I prepare my garden for weather extremes? A stylish dry river bed design helps mitigate flash flooding and drought
Gardeners’ Christmas Gift Guide Affordable ideas for green-fingered friends and family
Save £25 on holly trees Buy a pair of holly trees with planters for just £49.96 plus £6.99 p&p
Save up to £30 on azaleas Bring the garden indoors with these standard azalea and forced hyacinth offers (£4.95 p&p)
Over to you Our readers share their gardening stories and photos to win RSPB bird food and Felco secateurs
Puzzles and prizes Win rhubarb forcers, amaryllis and vouchers in our competitions this month
Garden view Find out why identifying plants gives columnist Katrina Roche the jitters