According to the garden experts at the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), giving your trees a wash with soapy water and a sponge can help them keep their colour during the winter months.
While it might sound more like a kitchen cleaning hack than a garden one, it's in fact something that apparently works wonders. Speaking to The Telegraph, the gardeners at RHS Rosemoor Garden in Devon explain that they polish their silver bark to bring back its shine.
Project leader Jonathan Webster said: "During the darker days of winter we all need our gardens to shine bright to help lift our spirits. Trees with coloured bark are great at doing this. The Himalayan birch with pure white ghostly trunks are a sight to behold against the dark winter landscape.
"We have given them a wash with a sponge and some soapy water, without doing this their wow factor would be lost."
It's not just birches, either. Over at the West Deans Gardens in Sussex, gardener Tom Brown explains that he buffs his cherry trees. "Birches and Tibetan cherries have wonderfully bright bark, which shines bright during the grey, winter months," he says.
He explains that a glossy finish can be achieved by using a soft brush and soapy water to remove any algae.
"To enhance this luminous quality, take a bucket of soapy water and a soft brush and gently remove the algae from the outer bark to reveal glossy, brightly coloured bark, which can be marvelled at from the warmth and comfort of your home during the festive period."
With the winter months often making our gardens look dull and dreary, maybe this cleaning secret is worth giving a go...
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12 best plants to bring colour to a winter garden
1. Harry Hotspur (Primula Auricula)
These beautiful Primulas are semi-evergreen and will withstand the worst of the winter before blooming brightly at the start of the new year.
2. Winter-Flowering Heather (Calluna Vulgaris)
Found naturally in moorland, Winter-Flowering Heather is great in pots or bedding, can live for several years and will add pinks, purples and whites to drab winter gardens.
3. Sow Bread (Cyclamen Hederifolium)
The ivy-leaved version is the hardiest Cyclamen species and will thrive throughout a cold British winter with beautiful flowers.
4. Christmas Rose (Helleborus Niger)
A evergreen and long-lasting buttercup, the Christmas Rose has all the beauty of a wild white rose but is much more robust when the weather worsens.
5. Firebird (Flax Lily – Phormium)
'Firebird’ Flax Lilies are another evergreen perennial that retain their strong leathery leaves and distinctive colours throughout the year in a range of soils.
6. Elephant’s Ears (Claire Maxine – Bergenia)
Rhizomatous ‘Elephant’s Ears’ Bergenia, also known as Claire Maxine, will bulk out garden bedding with drooping red foliage during the colder months.
7. Tsatsumi Gold (Hinoki Cypress – Chamaecyparis Obtusa)
Coniferous Tsatsumi Gold shrubs can bring lovely, subtle yellow-golden hues all the way from their native Japan to dull winter gardens in Britain.
8. Witch Hazel (Wisley Supreme – Hamamelis Mollis)
Distinctive yellow to red Witch Hazel is a fragrant and textured shrub that will flower during the winter in all British gardens.
9. Korean Feather Reed Grass (Calamagrostis Brachytricha)
This far-Eastern feather grass will bring unique silver tones to make outdoor spaces stand out against the neighbours.
10. Common Sage (Tricolor – Saliva Officinalis)
The common Tricolour Sage is a versatile evergreen shrub that can liven up British backyards this winter with grey-green leaves and purple flowers.
11. Grand Prix (Camellia Japonica)
The Camellia is another Asian winter hero – a dynamic shrub with bright flowers that jump out from its leathery leaves, it's also known as the Rose of Winter.
12. Angelina (Sedum Rupestre)
Clusters of little yellow flowers on the evergreen Angelina will sprout either side of the height of winter, in any soil that isn’t sodden.
Lisa Joyner is the Deputy Daily Editor at House Beautiful UK and Country Living UK, where she's busy writing about home and interiors, gardening, dog breeds, pets, health and wellbeing, countryside news, small space inspiration, and the hottest properties on the market. Previously, she has written for Conde Nast Traveller, House & Garden and Marie Claire magazine. Lisa studied at University For The Creative Arts, where she completed a BA in Fashion Journalism.
