I t’s Valentine’s Day and spring is upon us, or almost! My chickens have perked up; their combs have turned a vivid red and Cocky the Cockerel is busy chasing his four concubines round the coop. They keep retreating to the apex of the chicken house, much to his chagrin. Eggs are back on the menu again and, when I used to have a garden pond, frog spawn would always appear close to the date, as if by magic. Red is the colour assigned to lovers on this auspicious day. It’s also an important colour in the garden: it seems to put the entire spectrum into clear context.

One famous story about the painter William Turner (1775-1851) concerns a canvas entered into a competition. He was unhappy with the result and kept coming back to look at it. One day he came in with a small pot of paint and added a red buoy to the foreground. Immediately the painting came to life. Look at any Turner painting and there’s always a touch of red, whether it’s a pennant, a pair of trousers, or a red-coated soldier or two.

Gardens need touches of red for exactly the same reason. It could be a few red tulips, either in a clump or in a pot. Tulips come in many forms, but I only grow the later-flowering forms which follow the main flush of narcissi. One of my favourite is the 1955 lily-flowered tulip ‘Red Shine’, aptly named because when the sun strikes the flowers they glow with all the translucence of a red Tiffany lamp overlaid with rubies. As a result they literally outshine any other red tulip in the garden. And this lily-flowered tulip has grace and elegance too. The flowers are just the right size for the stems and being taller than most they hover above other late-flowering varieties, giving a more natural look. You could also use the late-April flowering Triumph tulip, ‘National Velvet’, introduced in 2007. Triumph tulips, primarily bred for the cut flower trade, tend to have small egg-shaped flowers with thicker petals on shorter stems. They last well in a vase and in the garden. ‘National Velvet’ is warm-red with touches of brown and purple, so it’s subtler in colour and one of the finest of all. Red roses can have the same effect too.

The late Peter Beales, recently deceased, bred the modern climber ‘Highgrove’ in 2009. It only reaches a modest ten feet (almost 3m) in height (from Peter Beales Roses — 01953 454707/www.classicroses.co.uk). Or you could add a red dahlia and ‘Bishop of Llandaff’ still reigns supreme, despite being launched in 1922.

Newer ones to chase include the orange-red waterlily ‘Tarahiti Ruby’ (tubers from Rose Cottage Plants 01992 573 775/www.rosecottageplants.co.uk) and the giant decorative ‘Bryn Terfel’ (from Halls of Heddon — 01661 852445/ www.hallsofheddon.co.uk).

Both do well on the show bench, should you be so inclined, and both were highly popular with the public and the judges on recent dahlia trials at RHS Wisley.