Bring your garden indoors over winter

Keen to stay in touch with new ideas and opinions within the landscaping and garden design industry?

Well make sure you check out the seminars on offer which will take place on both days of the Creating Landscapes Trade Show.

One of the talks will be provided by garden designer Andrew Fisher Tomlin where he will discuss the use of trees in the urban environment.

Here Andrew offers some tips and ideas on bringing plants into the home over the winter months:

I'm sitting writing this whilst the Autumn leaves are falling and the first bare patches of earth are arriving in my garden. Whilst there are lots of plants outside that will keep giving pleasure through the winter this is a great time to think about indoor gardening. After all, it's cold outside!

There are loads of indoor plants you can grow. Many of us have some very old plants inside that have stuck it out through neglected weeks when we've gone on holiday, poor light and bad watering.

But there is really no need for plants to suffer, it's just a matter of finding the right plant for the right place. And if you've got plants that are looking a bit poorly, then take a look at the ideas below and see if you've been treating them with due care and attention.

Plants for cool and draughty hallways

Orchids always seem to do well in a draughty spot in my kitchen but they do need to avoid strong sunlight. Ventilate the room even in Winter and keep compost moist. You can stand plants such as Cymbidium outside in the Summer. Ficus plants will also do well but don't let the compost dry out and Kentia Palms survive well in hallways where light can sometimes be a problem.

Plants for unheated porches and windowsills

Plants in these positions can suffer from extremes of temperature. Many plants cannot cope with this but I've found that Azaleas can if you keep the compost wet and move them back outside once the frosts finish.

Yuccas are fine in these conditions but cut back on the winter watering and make sure they have plenty of light. Cyclamen are also good and provide a welcome display at the front door.

Plants for hot, dry Spots

A good example of this is living rooms where there are open fires. But central heating also plays a big part in this. Although Yuccas like a cooler place they can tolerate extremes and dry air. If its cool at night they'll be OK as will Crassula plants. Peace Lillies are a real favourite and will do well in these conditions but make sure the compost is always moist.

All of these plants are easily found at garden centres and supermarkets. They usually have great instructions in how to care for them and seem to be getting cheaper each year. If you're really scared of where you should put plants then I've found that the easiest places are the bathroom and the kitchen.

And, if like me, you're not so sure you can spare too much time on watering and feeding then try one of the easiest plants there is - the cactus - on a light sunny windowsill with the occasional watering, you can't go wrong!

What else is there to do in a really cold snap like we've been having in recent years? Well for me the best option is to curl up in front of a roaring fire and pick out the seeds that will find a place in my garden next year.

I've now got some great vegetable beds and there's some movement on re-paving and re-decking some areas so now's the time for some reinvention and I'm fancying some exotic fruit bushes. But it's cold outside and I'll wait for the warmer weather.

Andrew Fisher Tomlin of Fisher Tomlin Garden Design is Director of the London College of Garden Design, a Fellow of the Society of Garden Designers and a trustee of Thrive - the national charity for horticultural therapy.