Autumn crocuses push up their flowers now, with the leaves delayed until the spring, so they need the support of surrounding grass to hold up their head. Look out for them at the Royal Horticultural Society's garden at Wisley, Sussex, where Cyclamen also flourish. Wisley is also on form during winter, with plenty of flowers to delight the eye. Butter-yellow winter aconites cheer the dullest day, and there are even Iris in flower, with snowdrops to follow.

Down in Devon, at Knightshayes Court, the sheets of Cyclamen are followed by the dusky nodding flowers of Helleborus.

In Cambridge, there's the University's Botanic Gardens, where a superb Winter Garden provides a large splash of colour. It's an eye-opener, packed with unusual shrubs flaunting their pure white or brightly coloured barks, and plenty of winter flowers carpeting the ground. Enjoy the mixture of green and golden conifers, plus plenty of winter-flowering heathers and hellebores, and be sure to have a notebook to hand to jot down names. You're bound to want to reproduce a part of this display in your garden.