Secrets to a perfect garden all year round

Each plant has a role, and timing is everything. Here are some tips to bring out the best in your garden no matter what season it is.

Enrich your soil in both winter and summer with shredded leaves from the autumn. It's an eco-friendly alternative to commercial fertilizers, and works wonders. Try it yourself by following these tips:

1. Pick a level, sunny, well-draining, out-of-the-way area for your compost bin.
2. Place larger materials on the bottom, and layer equal parts green and brown plant material on top.
3. Give the pile plenty of air circulation by mixing it periodically with a garden fork.
4. Be patient. It can take three months to two years to make finished compost.

To achieve continuous colour in the lean months, you'll need to depend on annuals with dramatic blooms and foliage like Icicle pansy and fire-engine-red salvia. Instead of planting flowers that will all bloom at the same time, opt for plants and flowers that bloom at different times. This way, you garden will always be fruitful.

Spring plants

• Flore Pleno buttercup (Ranunculus acris 'Flore Pleno')
• Rosalinda phlox (Phlox paniculata 'Rosalinda')
• Superba clustered bellflower (Campanula glomerata 'Superba')

Summer plants

• Souvenir d'Andre Chaudron catmint (Nepata 'Souvenir d' Andre Chaudron')
• Laura phlox (Phlox paniculata 'Laura')
• Firetail fleeceflower (Persicaria 'Firetail')

Fall plants

• Blue Lagoon aster (Aster novi-belgii 'Blue Lagoon')
• Autumn Fire sedum (Sedum 'Autumn Fire')
• Fireworks goldenrod (Solidago 'Fireworks')

Winter plants

• Arabesque maiden grass (Miscanthus sinensis 'Arabesque')
• Ice Dance sedge (Carex morrowii 'Ice Dance')
• Gowdy Oriental spruce (Picea orientalis 'Gowdy')

Winter can be a tricky time for many gardens to maintain colour or visual appeal. So play up the subtle elements in your yard during this time of year.

• Dress up paths, retaining walls, fences or gazebos during the winter.
• Play up perennials, such as yucca or pachysandra, that stay green throughout the winter.
• Evergreens and conifers are essential to winter landscapes. Try colourful cultivars and dwarf varieties.
• Ornamental grasses and sedges like 'Ice Dance' are perfect for the winter garden. They highlight Dorothy's garden in fall as well as winter. Other great grasses are maiden hair, fountain grass and blue fescue.
• Bushes and trees with fruit and berries make a statement in the winter garden.
• Try shrubs like holly, snowberry, American bittersweet or viburnum for dramatically colourful berries.