'Tis the season of fragrance, fruit and birdsong, writes Simon Farrell.
This time of year can be depressing in the garden if all you do is look at the ground - fallen leaves, damp lawns and mucky plots are hard to get excited about.
Instead, lift your gaze and focus on fragrant winter flowering shrubs - they offer luscious blooms, heady scent and homes for birds.
Even better, shrubs tend to be self-sufficient, requiring little or no winter input. "Tending" them is a real luxury - the family thinks you're working in the garden, but really you're just wandering around smelling the flowers and listening to the birds. What could be more therapeutic?
Plant selection is the key to a successful winter garden. To attract birds, you can't go wrong with a crab apple tree (Malus 'Wright's Scarlet'). The birds love the fruit and feel safe dining at a height away from cats. Crab apple trees are deciduous and drop fruit so don't plant them where they will overhang paths or driveways if you want to keep that work to a minimum. Plant them in a mulched garden and the uneaten fruit will simply decompose. They are usually smaller so can comfortably fit into most gardens. Their spring blossoms are a bonus.
