This variegated holly looks stunning all year round and can be clipped into any shape or size to suit your needs. Useful at this time of year in Christmas displays and it has the great advantage of not being prickly - much appreciated when weeding around it.

More tree-like in its growth habit than the spreading c. horizontalis, c. cornubia always puts on a fine display of orange berries, which last as long as the birds allow them to, as they seem to be preferred over those of c. horizontalis. Earlier in the season, its small pink summer flowers are always covered in feasting insects.

This rather lovely annual is a dark crimson variety of the popular 'morning glory' which, of course, is usually blue. I find this one to be rather more vigorous than the blue and not so affected by cool temperatures. It is now mid October and mine is still putting out daily crops of flowers.

This is the first time I have grown R. 'Autumn forest' but certainly won't be the last. It has many winning qualities: germination was excellent; subsequent growth steady; and its flowering very long-lasting, currently producing an eye-catching splash of colours very autumnal in tone, ranging from pure yellow through gold to browns and reds. Another important feature from my point of view is its height - a good 2 - 2½ feet whereas many annual rudbeckias are far too dumpy for my liking.

I have been growing this annual for many years now and consider it an essential part of the summer scene. Grown well, it reaches three feet with branching stems bearing heavenly-scented white star-shaped flowers. I say grown well because if not pleased, it just sits and sulks at a puny height until slugs put it out of its misery. So water well and give it a well-mulched soil.

Despite its demanding nature I love the way its flowers unfurl at the end of a scorching hot day, seeming to bring coolness in their wake and delighting the senses with their heady perfume. Christopher Lloyd divided scentls into moral and immoral: nicotiana certainly falls into the latter category.

One of the most eye-catching plants in the garden currently. This is a bold and beautiful plant with sea-green foliage and delicate panicles of beige-coloured flowers. Though it can grow up to 12 feet given good conditions, it is totally self-supporting. Hard to believe that it is a member of the poppy family papacleraclae, having nothing poppyish about it!

Always the star of the show in June, my ceanothus was grown from seed and very rapidly became a dominant feature in its border. Its small, evergreen leaves have a glossy lustre and this month it smothers them with flowers which begin as a smoky grey and progress to a brilliant blue. A characterful shrub all year round and mine is particularly beloved by our garden's bird population.

This attractive evergreen shrub is currently putting on a very good show of delightful lemon pea-type flowers. It is of the legume family but its glossy leaves are nothing like those of its relatives, the brooms. I grew my plant very easily from seed, of which it produces plenty each year. A very hardy, graceful shrub which should be more widely grown.

The bright green flowers of this hellebore are currently lighting up my borders and will do so for at least another month. Their dark, deeply divided leaves also make them an interesting foliage plant at other times of the year. They are short-lived plants however, going down to a virus which turns their leaves black, usually after a couple of seasons, but way of compensation they are easily replaced from seed.

A useful evergreen shrub which is flowering now and has been doing so since mid-November. Its flowers, in a gentle shade of yellow, have a pleasant lily-of-the-valley scent and I never pass it without halting for a sniff. Its leaves are prickly however, so care needs to be taken with the nose! I have seen this shrub grow to an ungainly size in other gardens but apparently it responds well to even the harshest of prunings.

Common though it may be, the winter jasmine can always be relied on to provide a sprinkling of brightness amid Winter's sobriety. The small cheerful yellow flowers seem to speak of spring blooms waiting in the wings, In our garden, it hoists itself through the cotoneaster horizontalis whose red berries provide a pleasing contrast.

Though beautiful throughout the year, Fatsia is at its peak during the gloomy month of November. When other plants in the garden are settling down to a winter's rest, Fatsia suddenly produces panicles of white, slightly sweet-scented ivy-like flowers. These are much-prized by any late insects, providing them with a final sip of nectar. Those unfamiliar with this plant often think that it must be tender, judging by its glossy leaves and exotic appearance. It is, however, one of the toughest plants in the garden, happily shrugging off the frosts.