It's rose-planting time, and garden centres are full of tempting specimens. The latest thing - and perfectly suited to the smaller garden - is the climbing patio rose, which grows to about seven feet. Scented, disease-resistant, repeat-flowering and happy to live in a 12-inch pot with a slightly acidic, water-retaining compost, it sounds almost too good to be true. There are seven varieties currently available, all with blooms at the pink, orange and yellow end of the spectrum.
Roses with ornamental hips give a special warmth to the winter garden: look out for Rosa moyesii, R. glauca (which has beauteous, dusky, grey foliage) and R. "Scabrosa", a good seaside hedging plant.
And if you are searching for a climbing rose to grow against a north-facing wall, choose one of these half-dozen Franco-flowers: the highly-perfumed and almost thornless "Zephirine Drouhin", the hardy "Gloire de Dijon", the sweet-pea-smelling "Madame Gregoire Staechelin", the creamy, scented "Madame Alfred Carriere", the deep-red velvet "Souvenir du Docteur Jamain" and good old coppery-pink "Albertine".