Plant this Camellias are best known as spring-flowering shrubs, but there’s one camellia species that puts on a show of luxurious scented blooms from late autumn into winter. C. sasanqua will grow well in a sheltered spot provided your soil tends to the acidic – it can be trained against a south- or west-facing wall – or in a large pot with ericaceous compost. Reliable cultivars include single red ‘Crimson King’, double white ‘Fuji-no-mine’ and single ‘Plantation Pink’.
Visit this Chrysanthemums are cool again. Yet to be convinced? Head to the RHS’s flagship garden at Wisley in Surrey where the glasshouse is home to a fabulous display of these flowers right now. If flowers aren’t your thing, there’s an exhibition about apples, too. Both run until 19 November.
Wash this Cleaning the bark of white-stemmed silver birches or bronzy Tibetan cherries is a satisfying chore: in a few minutes the trunks will be ready to glow in the slanting winter sun. Some gardeners swear by power washing away loose strips of bark, algae and lichen; I prefer a more gentle, meditative technique using a sponge and a bucket of water.
