The gardens people love most are rarely at their best for just one month. They are planned so something is always arriving as something else fades.

Spring

Bulbs under deciduous shrubs and trees give colour before the canopy fills in, and then disappear under summer growth.

Summer and autumn

Long-flowering perennials and grasses carry the middle of the year, then turn to gold and bronze as the light drops.

Winter

Evergreen structure, coloured stems and seed heads left standing keep the garden worth looking at from indoors.