With the days getting warmer and spring now here, it's the last chance to complete certain gardening jobs, including pruning.

Where possible, choose shrubs that hold their own during hot summers and cold winters. Chubby sprays of lilac-purple blooms float over the deciduous foliage from early summer to mid-autumn.

However all shrubs benefit from shortening any excessively long shoots and cutting out weak or damaged growth. Deciduous shrubs are more likely to need pruning into shape; this is known as ...