A group of mainly evergreen perennials, they are grown both for their gorgeously glossy foliage and their sweet, subtle flowers, which range in colour from palest green and cream right through to pink and purple. Helleborus x hybridus, otherwise known as the Lenten Rose (pictured) blooms right the way through from midwinter to mid-spring.Picture and information from the RHS book Garden Plants and Flowers Through the Year. Written by Ian Spence and published by Dorling Kindersley, its out now in hardback priced £16.99
February Tips l Remove the dead flower heads of Hippeastrum (Amaryllis) leaving the flower stalks to die down naturally keep feeding and watering until mid-summer then let the bulb go dormant.
l Sweet peas can be sown in a cold frame, under cloches or a cool room in the house best grown in pots with multi-purpose compost.
l Prune back deciduous grasses and perennial plants that were left for winter interest.
l Lift and divide established clumps of snowdrops and winter aconites replant to the same depth and feed with a general-purpose fertilizer.
l Check all plants growing in patio pots and containers, water during mild spells and top up with new compost if required.
l Protect any early blossom on peaches, apricots and nectarines for any frosts by covering with horticultural fleece this must be removed during mild weather to allow pollination.
l Winter flowering shrubs that have finished blooming can now be pruned or thinned out. Apply a mulch of compost or bark around the plant.
l Install new bird nesting boxes as soon as possible. Place boxes in a sheltered position, facing north-east if possible and make sure they cannot be easily accessed by cats.
l Prune back late summer and autumn flowering clematis (sometimes called group three). These include C. Viticella, C. Orientalis and large flowered hybrids such as C. Jackmanii. Do not prune any of the early flowering varieties until they have finished flowering.
Supplied by Peter Jackson at Scotsdales Garden Centre, Great Shelford
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