How can you create a garden that has something to offer for every season?

Do you enviously look across to your neighbour’s garden and wonder why it always seems to have a selection of flowers and foliage in bloom, no matter what the season? Well now you too can enjoy the benefits of garden that offers year-round floral displays – all it takes is a bit of careful planning.

Just because you’re a fair-weather gardener doesn’t mean you can’t create a garden that can be admired all year round. Not sure how to start planning your own Four Seasons Garden? Then try these six steps on your outdoor space and you could soon be getting much more out of your garden without the need for year-round maintenance.

Don’t rely solely on flower colour for interest. Blowsy blooms are great in summer but what happens when they’ve died back? Instead, supplement your flowering plants with those with rich foliage, and look to add structure with plants such as clipped hornbeams, architectural evergreens and grasses.

The body of this feature has been restricted...