A garden that only performs in June is half a garden. The schemes we love most are planned around the whole year, with structure that carries the eye through winter.
Start with the bones
Clipped yew, beech hedging and multi-stem trees give a garden its winter shape. Place them first and the seasonal planting has something to play against.
Leave the seed heads
Grasses, sedums and echinacea look wonderful standing in frost. Cut back in late winter, not autumn, and the border keeps its outline for months.
A simple rule
Aim for roughly a third of a border to be evergreen or strongly structural. The rest can come and go with the seasons.
