Use foreign evergreens when UK favourites are hibernating in the greenhouse

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A gardening expert has extolled the virtues of foreign plants, saying that they can add the energy that a UK garden lacks once the summer-time favourites have been stowed away for winter.

Guardian writer Carol Klein wrote that, far from toiling in the UK climate, evergreen plants from Australia and New Zealand can actually thrive – turning gardens into winter wonderlands.

Plants such as Libertia peregrinans, Astelias and Celmisia Coriacea could be just what gardeners need to wow their neighbours over the winter months.

The surprising species kick into life just as UK favourites are beginning to hibernate.

They can be just the thing for gardeners bemoaning how bare their gardens look when their British varieties are tucked away in the greenhouse.

For indoors, poinsettias are also proving popular again this winter – the red leaves have a festive feel about them and are good for brightening up the home.