The well-planned garden should have something to offer every month of the year. It should not be a place that comes to its glory in late spring then melts back into various shades of green for the rest of the year.

To get the desired effect is not really that difficult. Modern gardening books are full of colour and helpful tips but if you want to see the plants in real life and discuss your requirements it is better to make use of the free advice you will get at your garden centre.

But before you rush out and bombard your green-fingered guru with a battery of questions take some time to walk around your garden. Draw a rough plan of the area and accurately measure distances between walls, fences and border edges. This will help decide which plants, shrubs or trees will be best suited. It is also useful to note where the sun rises and sets and for how long in each day certain areas are in the shade.

Having the soil analysed is a useful step and its alkalinity or acidity can be controlled by the using lime, peat or various chemicals, including sulphur. Simple kits can be bought at any garden centre.

There is no reason why your garden cannot be alive, even in the depths of winter, when plants are asleep in the cold soil. Winter-flowering heathers and yellow sprays of mahonia and winter jasmine always make an attractive display. Similarly, the red stems of Cornus alba and golden-leaved elaeagnus make interesting points of focus.

When the warmer weather introduces spring there is a surge of activity in the garden with tulips and wallflowers making an entry. Forsythia, golden bell flower, with its sturdy upright shoots makes a good hedge and it is equally happy in full sun or deep shade and thrives in all soil types. But perhaps best of all at this time of year is the ornamental cherry with its profusion of soft pink flowers and it is a good specimen tree.

In the summer, annual cosmeas and pansies have taken over from the wallflowers and the tulips have yielded to antirrhinums which produce tall spikes of flowers from July until the cold finally puts them to bed.

This is the time of year when the garden is at its brightest with perennials, annuals, roses and climbing plants flourishing strongly and adding deep colour.

These colourful plants have not entirely given up their presence because as autumn approaches they gradually change towards browns, yellows and golds.

Once you have selected plants for seasons, the next project is to pick the plants that will overlap the seasons and provide a seamless display.

WHETHER you have a large garden or a seemingly useless small space, Niall Anderson of Tailored Timber can design and build a timber structure, from a tree house to a pirate ship. Niall has had many requests from customers, as the company name suggests, he can make anything from wood.

A lot of modern gardens have tricky little corners or awkward sections that are dead space, Niall has made many children's play structures designed to fit these spaces or laid decking with a complimentary surrounding structure.

One of his favourite commissions was a 15ft pirate ship complete with trap door and Jolly Roger. Tree houses are probably the most fun and interesting of all the commissions, and they are not always for kids.

Summer Houses, gazebos, pergolas and unique garden furniture are all made to measure adding an interesting feature to any garden.

If you would like to make more of an empty space in your garden call Niall on: 07919 344 880 or 0141 334 4382 www.tailoredtimber.com