The winter garden need not be a barren landscape, Pat Holt looks at how different grasses can create a subtle combination of colour and texture...

GRASSES, sedges and rushes come into their own at this time of year, as our garden flowers have faded and the last of the leaves are falling from the trees.

Gardening magazines and TV programmes have been singing the praises of these ornamental plants for the past few months - and now's the time to admire those swaying grass stems and delicate seed heads.

To see ornamental grasses used to magnificent effect, it's worth visiting the winter garden within the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens and Arboretum, near Romsey.

This two-and-a-half acre garden has been specially designed to look at its best between November and February.

The subtle beauty of the winter garden relies largely on the masses of grasses, large and small, which contrast wonderfully with bright coloured dogwood stems, winter flowering witch hazels, silver birches and bold bamboos, with a background of dark green evergreen trees.

Hellebores, viburnums, aconites and daphnes all bloom in winter and they are followed, in the early spring, by snowdrops, crocus and daffodils, which all thrive in the shelter of the tall grass plantings.

On fine days, the low winter sun seems to pick these features out like a spotlight!

Beneath the turf of the winter garden is a honeycomb layer made of recycled plastic. This improves drainage and makes the grass much more hard wearing during the wet winter months.

In fact, in recent years, it has become clear that, in the south of England, the grass in our lawns is continuing to grow during the winter, except during really cold spells. This is part of a pattern which has been scientifically recorded.

BBC weather presenter Isobel Lang said: "The 20th century saw a steady increase in temperatures, with the 1990s being the warmest on record.

"Amazingly, people in some milder parts of the UK were condemned to having to cut their continually growing grass throughout the winter!"

Also taking note of the milder conditions is the conservation charity, the Woodland Trust, which reports: "Changing weather patterns are resulting in an accelerated trend toward a delayed, shorter autumn."

The Trust has found that, in the south, beech, oak and sycamore trees change colour five to seven days later than the same species in Scotland.

In fact, this year, some Hampshire gardeners were still enjoying their late flowering roses and other colourful summer flowers right into the second week of November.

* At this time of year, the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens and Arboretum are open daily from 10.30am until dusk. The gardens are between Ampfield and Braishfield, three miles north-east of Romsey. They are signposted from the A3090 Winchester to Romsey road and from the A3057 Stockbridge to Romsey road. For prices and information, call 01794 368787.