With a hosepipe ban hitting Hampshire to protect the precious habitats of our Rivers Test and Itchen and further bans planned across the South of England, there are steps we can all take to ensure we still have beautiful gardens and safeguard our environment.

If you want more hellebores in your garden, low maintenance, lovely perennials which gently sing from the side-lines and from dark corners during late winter and early spring offering the prettiest of flowers, read on for ideas and suggestions.

Adding paint colour in your garden can smarten and brighten your space, create unity, add atmosphere and inject playfulness. Now's the time to colour scheme and get your paintbrush out when spring arrives.

As 25 December looms, here are some Christmas present ideas for garden lovers and would be garden lovers. All ideas tested, spotted or touched by me. None have been “gifted”, so you can be 100% sure these are heart-warming recommendations you can trust, one friend to another.