Have you ever wondered what it’s like to plant a gold medal winning, main avenue garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show?

The short answer: it’s an unmissable, 7am to 7pm, 7 day a week experience. A challenge that sharpened my senses and secateurs. A supportive team like the best I’ve ever been privileged to be a part of. A physical marathon. And a magical garden that I fell in love with and taught me so much.

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.