Looking good in the Garden Winter

Esther Wolff is leading a half-day workshop on winter gardening at RHS Garden Harlow Carr on Saturday 22 January, from 10.00am to 12.00. It's aimed at beginner gardeners, so it's a good place to start if you're still figuring out your way around the beds.

The session is all about how to choose trees, shrubs and perennials that bring colour, texture, fragrance and structure to the winter garden. The idea is to have something of interest to look at when much of the garden is at rest, rather than just waiting for spring to roll around. If you've ever looked at your garden in January and felt it was a bit bleak, that's exactly what this is for.

Wolff runs the session as part of the Gardening Advice team at Harlow Carr, and she also gives horticultural and garden design advice through the charity's free member service. She retrained in horticulture as a second career and has a particular passion for the art of pruning, so if you've got questions about when and how to cut back, she's a good person to ask. The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK's gardening charity, and they run the whole site.

Places are limited to 15, so it's a small group rather than a big lecture. It runs at the Bramall Learning Centre within the garden, at Crag Lane, Harrogate, HG3 1QB. Tickets are £40, and free for RHS Members.