Endurance of the evergreens

At this time of year we really value the evergreens, especially until the deciduous plants really start to produce their leaves.

Not only do evergreens provide valuable colour in the garden, but they serve as a shelter for the new, tender leaves that are sprouting up near to them.

Some of them actually manage to flower as well. Ribes laurifolium is a small shrub which flowers at this time of year, with greenish yellow petals on hanging clusters of flower.

An example in my garden is about 6ft tall now, but has taken a long time to reach this height. It needs to be supported, as it will fall down if not, but people always notice it and want to know the name.

It is about the only evergreen Ribes, so is quite a novelty, but it's easy to grow in a shady spot, sheltered from the cold wind.

Skimmia is a very hardy little plant. The best one to choose is skimmia reevesiana, which is hermaphrodite, ie. both sexes are on the same plant so it can pollinate itself, guaranteeing an abundance of lovely red berries.

These last all through the winter and often into the spring, so it is a really worthwhile plant.

Flowering in February and well into March is the Azara microphylla. The flowers are tiny - in fact, you hardly notice them at all, except that the scent is amazing. When children come to my garden I ask them if they can smell anything. Usually they can smell chocolate or vanilla.

I then get them to find the flowers, which they usually do, as children have a much better sense of smell than adults.

Although the leaves are small, the tree can grow quite big, but I cut it back on most years, as it is against an east-facing wall, and I need the space for other things.

Of course, we all need a holly at Christmas, with berries on. One of the best is ilex milkmaid, with small leaves and bright red berries.

Most of the berries have gone by now, but the leaves are always attractive. I clip mine to keep it bushy and then it makes a marvellous shelter - it really is quite vandal proof.

My last evergreen is mahonia smarag. This is very similar to mahonia Apollo, but flowers at a slightly different time. It is a type of mahonia aquilegia, or Oregan grape, but has very big clusters of brilliant yellow flowers in spring which last a long time.

It is so much better than the ordinary Oregon grape - a good example of a plant which has really been improved, giving enormous flowers, yet still doing a good job at sheltering other plants and giving colour to the garden in winter.

By Pat Edwards