Category: grasses

RHS Flower Show Tatton Park – Part 2 – children as gardeners

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date August 31, 2014

One of the most enjoyable features of Tatton and perhaps also one of its most important elements is the encouragement of young talent be it young garden designers creating their first RHS show gardens or local schools trying their hand out at making gardens.

We always enjoy the work of the young designers at Tatton Flower Show and it is here that the RHS deliberately showcase young designers’ talent but sadly there seem so few. This year there were three young designers who had been given the opportunity to create their first RHS show gardens. I wish this chance was given to more! The standard of the work of these three though was astounding with a freshness in their planting and originality in the way they considered their brief. The first two shots are of the garden designed by the winner of the title “Young Garden Designer of the Year” and show his use of soft planting schemes of perennials scattered among grasses. This was a beautiful atmospheric garden which made us imagine what it would be like to lounge on that seat listening to the insect life busy in the grasses all around. It would be like lying in an old fashioned wildflower meadow.

The third shot shows another young designer’s garden which was in fact an outdoor gym. The idea was a good one but to me it was too much of a gym and too little garden.

The last three photos are of the third young designer’s garden which again has gentle planting featuring many grasses but it has the added interest of coloured glass screens which created interesting colour casts when the sun got to work. We enjoyed this garden too and could see a great future for the designer.

The local schools always put on a show with the Wow factor. This year they were challenged to create gardens based on book characters and others took the chance of planting up recycled items. One thing that shows through is the young minds’ use of colour.

Share my pictures and revel in the ideas and the colours. Try to work out the stimulus for the gardens too.

As you can imagine we came away feeling happier about the future of gardening and garden designers. Surely a few of the school children who exhibit at Tatton each year will go on to choose gardening in one form or another as a career. Let us hope so!

Tags garden photography, gardening, grasses, RHS flower shows, RHS Tatton Park Flower Show, Tatton Park, young designers

colours flowering bulbs fruit and veg garden design garden designers garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public grasses hardy perennials Italian style gardens July meadows ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs photography Piet Oudolf roses Staffordshire Tom Stuart-Smith trees

A Garden in July and August – Trentham

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date August 20, 2014
3 Comments on A Garden in July and August – Trentham

So back to Trentham to see how good this wonderful garden is throughout the year. Because of preparing for the first ever opening of our garden we will have to join July and August together and do just this one post. From past experience of visiting in late summer we had high expectations. We expected the River of Grasses to have grown tall and be flowering profusely and for the herbaceous perennials to be full of colour, texture and structure. So let’s have a wander to see what is going on.

We entered the gardens over the little curved bridge over the River Trent and got our first look over the Piet Oudolf gardens. The River of Grasses was showing stress after the strange weather so far in 2014, with the grasses only looking half grown and showing no signs of flowering.

Taking the gravel path through the winding row of River Birches we were amazed by views of Oudolf’s prairie planting. After the restful green shades of the River of Grasss there was suddenly so much colour! The planting combinations worked together showing great use of contrasting colours and textures.

Persicaria, Eupatorium, Echinacea, Monarda, Sedum and Sanguisorba were star performers. But there was lots more to appreciate too!

We were sad to leave this area with its gentle atmosphere and some of the best plant combinations you can find anywhere in England. But we were here on a mission, seeking out the changes since our June visit. So off we went to the bit of Trentham we don’t like, the Italian Garden with its gaudy bedding plants. But it is part of the story so I took a few pics of the bedding. Below the balustrading the narrow border was much better with its Aeoniums, Kniphofias and Dahlias. At this time the drizzle started to fall and as usual we got our Trentham soaking.

From the balustrade we got our first views of Tom Stuart-Smith’s redesigned Italian parterre garden. The garden seemed gentler in colour on this visit with a concentration of greens and yellows with clusters of mauves and purples.

Any red or orange looked stunning in this company of course, especially the Heleniums and Crocosmias, with an odd surprise Hemerocalis thrown in for added interest.

As usual the corner beds looked great encouraging the visitor to explore further. We certainly enjoyed them as we moved on towards the display gardens.

Within the display gardens there were several little areas of interest, such as this old fence leaning on the ivy-covered wall and the delicate pink planting.

As usual we made our way back to the car via the Rose Walk, where our senses were invaded.

This piece of sculpture created by Mother Nature stopped us in our tracks – never before had we seen Foxtail Lilies looking quite like this with their towering stems dotted with marble-sized seeds affording a are glimpse of its unusual structural qualities.

From the Rose walk we glanced across through the wrought iron supports to Piet Oudolf’s River of Grasses and his Prairie plantings.

Trentham never lets us down. We were expecting to see big changes and lots of colour on this visit and we were not disappointed, except for the River of Grasses where the grasses seemed small and lacking in flowers just like ours at home. The weather this year has a lot to answer for! So next visit will be in September when once again we will go with great expectations and full of excited anticipation.

Tags betula, betulas, birches, echinacea, Eremurus, eupatorium, Fox Tailed Lily, fruit and veg growing, fruit and vegetable growing, kitchen gardens, monarda, Piet Oudolf, prairie gardening, prairie planting, Staffordshire, Tom Stuart-Smith, Trentham Garden, Trentham Gardens

climbing plants colours garden design garden photography garden ponds garden pools garden seating gardening gardens grasses half-hardy perennials hardy perennials Hardy Plant Society HPS National Garden Scheme NGS ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs roses Shropshire The National Gardening Scheme" water in the garden Yellow Book Gardens

Aiming for a year round garden – our garden in June – how our visitors saw us.

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date July 16, 2014
5 Comments on Aiming for a year round garden – our garden in June – how our visitors saw us.

This year, 2014 will be the year we open our garden under the auspices of the National Garden Scheme, so we saw our garden details published in the famous Yellow Book. This is a landmark for any gardener in England and Wales, albeit a pleasing one and a worrying one. So many questions pour into your mind when you see the description of your garden in print.

I had to provide 9 photographs of our garden taken in previous years at the same time of year we are due to open. It was hard to choose shots that gave the right “feel”. We wanted to give a taste of what our plot is all about and these pictures give further ideas for the visitor after they have read the paragraph we presented to the NGS. Luckily I could look back into the archives of my blog. To check out the photos I selected go to the NGS website, http://www.ngs.org.uk, click on “find a garden” and type in Avocet where you are asked for a garden name.

We have also been asked by a couple of garden groups if they could visit. So the first of these we set for mid-June and we felt it would provide a practice run for the big day in August. The group were the Shrewsbury Mini-group of the Shropshire Hardy Plant Society, so we knew them already which made the day a bit less daunting. I took a series of photos in the morning of the day they were coming to give an idea of how they would see our little quarter acre of garden.

This post also serves as part of my series on “Aiming for a Year Round Garden” where I look around our garden to see if our aim to have interest throughout he year is working.

The first photos show how we welcome visitors as they find our gateway and look up the drive.

Next we take a quick wander around the front garden to view the gravel garden (The Beth Chatto Garden), the stump circle and the driftwood circle, as well as the mixed borders around the lawn.

We have worked hard this year to make the drive and the side of the house more welcoming using antique galvanised containers planted up with Dahlias and Calendulas and brightly coloured Pelargoniums are planted in the hanging baskets and other containers.

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The next “port of call” is the Shade Garden followed by the “Fern Garden” and then into the “Seaside Garden”. I always seem to follow a set pathway around the garden when taking photos but I have to admit that I designed the garden to give visitors choices and so have created a situation where no two people wandering around need to follow the same route. I want each section of the garden to be viewed and approached from several directions. So although I am trying in this post to show our garden from our visitors’ viewpoint it is in reality just my own personal route.

And so to the back garden which has a different feel to it altogether as the individual garden compartments are all hidden in some way. It is a garden where you have to go looking – you cannot sit and look and take it all in in one go. Unlike the front, where from the seat under the arbor you can view most of the garden borders in one go, there are parts you can’t see so you are enticed to go to them for a close look.

In the back garden we find the water feature among Hostas and Toad Lilies on the end of the Shed Bed and from there you can look down the central path with arches draped with trained apple trees, roses and clematis. Another arch to the side of the main path affords glimpses of more borders.

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From the central path we can peer over the cloud pruned box hedge into these borders, which hopefully will entice the visitors to explore further.

By turning right off the central path visitors find themselves between the Chicken Garden and the Secret Garden and after a mere half dozen steps must choose which one to look at first.

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Within the Secret Garden alongside a comfortable cream coloured seat visitors can enjoy our latest creation, the Alpine Throne.

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If however our visitors chose to go left at the central path they would find further choices, the Japanese Garden, the Wildlife Pond and Bog Garden to the right or the Long Border and Crescent Border to the left.

Back closer to the house we can find the “Pollinators’ Border” complete with insect hotel, the Shed Scree Bed and the new Tropical Border.

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So there we have a quick tour of our garden in mid-June just as our first group of garden visitors saw us. We enjoyed the kind comments they left and felt it had been worthwhile, particularly when several said they would be back when we opened for the NGS in August.

The only downer was that the Bearded Iris had given us their best show ever, a true extravaganza for the three weeks or so prior to the visit. On the day just one bloom remained to show everyone what they had missed. Gardeners always say “You should have come last week.” and for us this may well have been true, at least where the Iris were concerned.

Our next big day is our NGS Open Day on the 3rd August so we are hoping we can maintain interest in the borders until then. A second mini-group of Shropshire Hardy Planters will be visitors a month after that so we will have to be “on our toes” for a while yet!

Tags clematis, foliage, garden photography, gardening, grasses, Hardy Plant Society, NGS, organic gardening, ornamental trees, Shropshire Hardy Plant Society, Yellow Book, Yellow Book Gardens

colours garden design garden photography gardening gardens grasses half-hardy perennials hardy perennials irises light light quality meadows National Garden Scheme NGS ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs Powis Powys The National Gardening Scheme" trees Wales woodland

Three Welsh Gardens – Part Three – A Garden of Two Halves

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date July 9, 2014
4 Comments on Three Welsh Gardens – Part Three – A Garden of Two Halves

We visited another garden in the countryside of Powis, our neighbouring county. It proved to be very much a garden of two halves. We approached “Cil y Wennol” on foot up a gently sloping curved driveway with trees on both sides dotted around in grass. Closer to the more formal front garden there were interesting land forms with a small meadow facing the sun on an embankment. Moon Daisies shone out almost glaring in the sunshine. As you have gathered from that statement we were experiencing bright sunshine.

This Betula with its beautifully coloured peeling bark had enticed us up the long drive where we were greeted by this bank of smiling daisies.

The front garden was a typical cottage style with interesting plants such as Astrantias, Lilies and Irises dotted throughout.

We had now realised that we had visited this garden years ago so we were not surprised by the sudden change in the garden design that greeted us as we entered the back garden. Here the design was much more modern. It was a garden to explore slowly taking advantage of the invitations presented through good design.

One path invited us into woodland, a relief for a while from the brightness and warmth of the sun. We were impressed by how a beautiful woodland can be created with the commonest of tree species. It proved you don’t have to have rarities to impress. Here the gardeners grew just native Birches, Rowans, Cherries and a few non-natives to add a touch of spice. A lovely atmosphere pervaded this space.

Leaving the woodland we were again presented with several options, different paths to take with different views and different plants.

Closer to the house a gravel area gave a completely different feel. Here were neatly trimmed conifers and Cotinus with their skirts lifted to expose twisted limbs. Soft planting among these features reflected the planting in the nearby borders.

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Moving around the side of the property we found another path to take through gap in the hedge where we discovered a swimming pool overlooked by a summerhouse.

We walked from here along a narrow path below a wall with soft planting above, beautifully backlit by the sun.

This was most definitely a garden of many parts beautifully linked with winding paths found through enticing arches and gaps in hedging.

Leaving the garden along the central pathway of the front cottage garden we enjoyed the view behind this wonderful gate. A great garden – it was good to return.

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Tags foliage, garden photography, garden wildlife, gardening, grasses, herbaceous plants, meadows, mixed borders, ornamental trees, Powis, Powys, summerhouses, trees

architecture birds gardens gardens open to the public grasses hardy perennials lakes landscapes meadows National Trust ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture renovation shrubs The National Trust trees water in the garden

A Walk in the Park – Croome

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date June 20, 2014
2 Comments on A Walk in the Park – Croome

A a rare warm day in May we met my sister, Penny and husband Tony, for a walk in the park near their home. But this is no ordinary park – it was Croome a National Trust property near the village of Pershore in Worcestershire. The park and house are undergoing a huge long-term restoration programme. We were pleased to get a chance to enjoy it part way through its rebirth.

The parkland was originally designed by Capability Brown and it is beginning to come back to life after decades of neglect. Sweeping wildflower meadows were punctuated with newly planted trees. From the slightly elevated parts of the park we enjoyed distant views of the Worcestershire countryside.

As we walked along the highest ridge in the park through newly planted shrubs and trees we were amazed to see that one section of the original underground water system had been exposed by a landslip. A glimpse into the genius of those water feature engineers. In places small areas of herbaceous planting had been established. It was refreshing to look at colour close to and in detail as the parkland here is mostly about large-scale views.

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A few old specimen trees have survived and their gnarled twisted trunks were a stark contrast to the newly planted shrubs and trees. Beyond them glimpses of the house and church were revealed.

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Flowering shrubs seemed particularly happy here with fine examples of sweetly scented Lilac and Hawthorn with their rather unpleasant aroma.

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As we left the shrubberies we moved back out into the open passing over an old stone-built bridge over the River Croome where it had been widened out to form a lake. This was typical of the way Capability Brown manipulated the landscape. The fence on the bridge was constructed from the wood of chestnut. This wood makes unusual looking fencing which lasts for centuries without maintenance. (see another post, coming soon, concerning Chestnut trees and fences constructed from their wood)

Overlooking the lake was a grotto which had been lovingly restored and on this extremely hot and humid day it provided some much appreciated shade and cool air. The fissures and cracks within it afforded the local small birds with safe, secret nesting sites. We spotted Wrens, Blue Tits and Coal Tits while we sat and rested a short while. A statue here was dedicated to Sabrina the Goddess of the River Severn. Sabrina is well known to us as our home town, Shrewsbury, huddles within a loop of the River Severn. The goddess lends her name to many a boat and building in the town.

In places the lake’s surface bubbled and frothed with a seething black mass of tadpoles. Amazing!

Our wanderings back to the car park took us along the banks of the River Croome where we were entertained by Sedge Warblers in full song atop waterside plants, through more flower rich meadows.

Tags Capability Brown, Croome Park, garden photography, gardening, meadows, National Trust, ornamental trees, outdoor sculpture, Sabrina, trees, Worcestershire

climbing plants colours flowering bulbs garden designers garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public grasses hardy perennials irises Italian style gardens meadows ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture Piet Oudolf roses sculpture Staffordshire Tom Stuart-Smith trees water in the garden

A Garden in May – Trentham

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date June 10, 2014
3 Comments on A Garden in May – Trentham

Here we are with post number 5 of this series looking at the gardens at Trentham where we are trying to discover if Trentham really is a “garden of all seasons”. For our May visit we were hoping for better weather as rain has greeted us on every other visit. It may seem a bit late to be posting this post but we have been so busy getting our garden ready for our summer visitors and the allotment community gardens ready for our NGS Open Day we are now behind with everything. We are getting behind at being late!

But the day dawned wet yet again.

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We were amazed by the number of people around and the queue of visitors waiting to get through the turn styles. The majority of these visitors were young families. Soon we saw clues about what was going on – balloons, bunting and banners. It all pointed to the day being a special one for Trentham Gardens – their 10th birthday since reopening.

The area called the River of Grasses designed by Piet Oudolf has gained a lot of patches of colour from perennials among the strongly growing grasses. Persicaria bistorta, Amsonia and Trollius were particularly in evidence.

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When we moved into the Piet Oudolf prairie borders we noticed that the growth of the herbaceous plants since out last visits was amazing.

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After enjoying the fresh colours in this area we wandered across neatly mown grass towards the Italianate Garden, and on the way we passed the Hornbeam Arbour and through a Hornbeam archway. We found evidence of the newly cut area where seagulls of crocus and snowdrops were earlier in the year (see earlier posts in this series). Now they appear as ghosts in the grass.

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In the Italianate Garden the gardeners were planting out large specimens of Cannas with huge incredibly marked and coloured leaves.

From the Italianate Garden we get our first views of the garden designed by Tom Stuart-Smith, where he imposed modern style herbaceous plantings onto the original Italian Garden. Since last month these borders are showing so much colour and to begin with it is hard to identify what plants are providing all the colour.

Closer up we found the colour was from Alliums, Euphorbias, Amsonias, Irises, Rogersias and Astrantias. Enjoy a tour of these borders.

Last time we were here the gardens above the Tom Stuart-Smith borders was yellow with daffodils naturalised in the grassed banks. On this visit the colour was purple and it was provided by hundreds of purple globes of Alliums. A young photographer was snapping away.

A new woven figure has appeared on the grassed banks.

More Alliums were naturalised in the grass beneath the mature trees from the otiginal parkland plantings. They added colour to our walk over to look at the Display Gardens.

Here the newly planted gardens were taking shape.

As always our wanderings around the gardens at Trentham finish with a walk along the Rose Walkway. Yet more Alliums grew here in between the roses.

Wisterias were flowering as they climbed over the metalwork and added colour and scent to our walk.

We came across this pink flowered shrub which although we had seen it before we could not remember what it was. It was a beautiful shrub. Any ideas?

I finish our May wander of this amazing garden with a few views from the rose walk looking over the River of Grasses.

Tags foliage, garden photography, gardening, grasses, meadows, ornamental trees, outdoor sculpture, Piet Oudolf, shrubs, Tom Stuart-Smith, trees, Trentham Gardens

colours garden design gardening gardens grasses hardy perennials ornamental grasses succulents

Our New Planting Boxes

We must all have parts of our garden which disappoint us every time we pass by. Our disappointing bit is a part of the garden we not only walk past but also drive past as we enter our property and it is the first thing visitors see. We have a gateway at the end of our drive with a walk creating a funnel effect. Sadly this wall is not made from beautiful stone or old brick but dingy old 1960’s reconstituted stone or perhaps even concrete. It is an eyesore and at last we have got around to doing something about it – it has only taken 11 years to get started!

We decided to paint the wall a pale cream to match the house and then place some planters in front of it. We hope this will create a feeling of a warm welcome as you enter the driveway.

We bought three personalised planting boxes and a trug and went off to our favourite nursery, where after our usual coffee and carrot cake we bought a selection of perennials for the boxes and alpines for the trug. We bought 3 each of five different perennials and planted them out with our own seedlings of grasses which Jude had nurtured and brought on to suitable size. The perennial hardy herbaceous plants we bought were Catananche caerulea “Alba” with white flowers similar to cornflowers with the added interest of contrasting dark purple centres and yellow stamens, Salvia superba with its bright purple-blue spikes of flowers, Knautia macedonica with deep red “pin cushion” flowers, Veronica longifolia “Blue” the tallest of all with its elegant spikes held 3 feet high and the lovely white daisy Leucanthemum superbum “Alaska”. Fingers crossed now that they thrive in our boxes and give a warm welcome to our summer visitors.

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As well as the boxes we had a wooden trug stenciled with the words “born to garden”. This was a saying I first saw when visiting a Yellow Book open garden a few years ago. There the phrase was on a sign cut from wood and displayed on the inside wall of a summer house. I sought out the gardener to ask where he had found the sign but he was unable to help as it was a gift. And I have been looking out for it ever since. when we ordered our personalised boxes it seemed a good opportunity to make our own version.

We planted a selection of alpines and succulents in it after adding a mixture of grit and multi-purpose compost – Frankenia thymifolia with its small pink flowers, Sedum glaucophyllum “Lizard a succulent which forms a low mound of rosettes with tiny white flowers in the summer, Delosperma nubigenum with its vivid yellow daisy like flowers, Sempervivum x fauconetti a house leek with a spider web covering, a yellow flowered alpine Potentilla and the tiny daisy Erigeron karvinskianus “Profusion”.

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We left all the new plants to settle into their new homes in the shelter of our wood-store before putting them in their final homes by the newly painted new gateway wall.

Just a month later they look like this – can’t wait to see them in flower!

Tags container gardening, garden photography, gardening, grasses, hardy perennials, Houseleeks, succulents

flowering bulbs garden design garden designers garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public grasses hardy perennials Italian style gardens meadows ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs Piet Oudolf spring bulbs spring gardening Staffordshire Tom Stuart-Smith trees

A Garden in April – Trentham

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date May 4, 2014
2 Comments on A Garden in April – Trentham

So here we are on our April visit to the gardens at Trentham, already the fourth in this series of posts looking at Trentham Gardens throughout the year.

We immediately notice that the fresh growth of Spring is well underway. The grasses in the River of Grasses are no longer brown and dead but putting on strong bright green growth. The herbaceous growth huddled in the grasses is looking vigorous with Trollius adding splashes of gold. Euphorbias look vibrant under the river of birches. Leaf buds are bursting on all the deciduous trees.

As we move into Piet Oudolf’s perennial prairie plantings some plants are well into growth where others have barely started. Thalictrum and Amsonias are looking particularly vibrant.

Leaving the Prairie area we immediately notice that the Hornbeam arbor has grown vigorously and is now looking like a big shaggy sheep. The bench is a great place to get a shaded, secret, quiet moment. The arbor looks like it could get up and walk away!

As you may remember from our earlier visits we move through grassed areas with shrub borders towards the Italian Garden, passing through an avenue of Hornbeam on the way. The tulips in this part of the garden are nothing short of startling! We are not sure at all of some of the colour combinations but they are definitely cheerful.

From here we take our usual look over Tom Stuart-Smith’s garden where bursts of colour mostly oranges and blues greet us. When we get closer we realise they are the colour is provided by Camassias and various Euphorbias.

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Let us now have a closer look at some of the individual plants of interest.

Firstly the strange Primula like flowers of Dalmera peltata looking like pink lollypops on tall sticks. The flowers come before there is any sign of the leaves and the flower stem appears out of the rizomes which sit right on the surface of the soil. The leaves when they do appear are equally dramatic – big circular leaves held right off the ground.

The flower shoots of Eremurus robustus, the Fox Tail Lily are appearing at the base of the whorl of leaves. These were the mystery leaves in last month’s visit. The grey-pink blooms of the Giant Red Deadnettle, Lamium orvala wrap themselves right up the stems between the leaf clusters.

The yellow pea flowers of the Thermopsis montana, variously known as False Lupin, Golden Pea, Revonpapu and so on, are just freshly out and blend nicely with the silvery green leaves.

As we leave the Tom Stuart-Smith gardens we notice, as we follow the gravel pathway to the display gardens, that the daffodils in colour on our last visit are still presenting a haze of yellow.

On our return journey through the garden we notice the newly emerging flower bud of this Allium, sitting like a table tennis ball in the centre of the three leaves. The fresh leaves on a deciduous tree stand out in sharp contrast to the dullness of its evergreen companion even in dull light.

Tulips adorn the Rose Walk where the roses are budding strongly. From here we can look back on the team of gardeners beavering away heads down in their waterproof jackets.

Looking through the rose pergola we can see the green growth in the River of Grasses. Alongside this path Corydalis is flowering at ground level whereas at a higher level the red leaves of the Acer manage to look cheerful in the rain.

So we leave Trentham in the rain yet again and look forward to our May visit when maybe we will see a little sunshine and a blue sky!

Tags foliage, garden photography, gardening, grasses, meadows, ornamental grasses, ornamental trees, Piet Oudolf, spring bulbs, Staffordshire, Tom Stuart-Smith, trees, Trentham Garden, Trentham Gardens

colours flowering bulbs garden design garden photography gardening gardens grasses hardy perennials ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs spring bulbs The National Trust trees Winter Gardening winter gardens

Three Winter Gardens – Part Three – Anglesey Abbey

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date April 27, 2014
2 Comments on Three Winter Gardens – Part Three – Anglesey Abbey

This, the third in my series of three posts looking at winter gardens, sees us at the most well known of all winter gardens, Anglesey Abbey.

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Situated near Cambridge within the larger gardens and grounds of this National Trust property the winter garden here is often considered to be the best of all and a big influence on all others that follow. We shall look at further aspects of the gardens at Anglesey Abbey in future posts.

We visited the winter garden at Anglesey Abbey many years ago the first year it was open to the public so it was like meeting an old friend but one who has changed a lot in the intervening years.

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This set of gates welcomed us as we arrived at the start of the winter plantings.

We soon met the friends we had seen in our other two winter gardens, the dogwoods, rubus and willows grown for their stem colour underplanted with hellebores and ivies. There was some wonderful pruning techniques on display here too.

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Grasses featured strongly with their wonderful warm colours and strong structural shapes.

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We were once again interested to see which plants the gardeners from Anglesey Abbey used as ground cover to help reduce weed growth. Various low growing grasses teamed up with Arum and Bergenias to perform this role.

All these plants acting out their roles as ground covering plants encouraged us to look down as we were seeking ideas for our allotment Winter Garden, but we were struck also by specimens higher up.

The Viburnum pictured below didn’t just look good it smelled sweetly too. The Pulmonaria has not just flowers of two colours but unusual foliage to catch the eye.

The fresh foliage of the Cercis had leaves of a delicate bronze which was a strong contrast to the much more brash reds of the Photinia “Red Robin”.

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The white bark of the trunks of Betula utilis although now used in every winter garden still deserve to be centre stage. Here at Anglesey Abbey some had been “dressed” in bright colours for added humour.

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This golden stemmed ash is rarely seen in gardens but in the winter its black pyramidal buds strongly contrast with the golden stems. It is one of those plants that are simply too big for the average garden but when space allows it can be really attractive.

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I have concentrated so far on the attributes of individual plants but we need to see how they fit in to the whole to fully appreciate their impact and the atmosphere of this amazing winter garden.

We entered the winter borders through interesting sculptural gates and we left through another. A quick look over the shoulder gave us a final chance to appreciate this brilliant garden.

So there we leave the series of three posts concerning winter gardens. Although Dunham Massey is the newcomer it looked good against the other two, but in the end it has to be said that the “original” winter garden at Anglesey Abbey remains my firm favourite.

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Tags betulas, birches, dogwoods, foliage, garden photography, gardening, grasses, National Trust, ornamental trees, salix, trees, willows, winter, winter garden, winter gardening, winter gardens

colours flowering bulbs garden design garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public grasses hardy perennials irises ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs shrubs spring bulbs trees Winter Gardening winter gardens

Three Winter Gardens – Part Two – Cambridge Botanic Gardens

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date April 16, 2014
1 Comment on Three Winter Gardens – Part Two – Cambridge Botanic Gardens

We had never been to Cambridge before. Lots of people told us it is just like Oxford its parallel university city. We decided to put things right and find out for ourselves so spent a few days there. One day we spent in the University Botanic Gardens where we were keen to explore the winter garden as we had heard good things about it.

We were pleased we decided to visit both Cambridge and its botanic garden as we enjoyed both immensely. The Botanic Garden was good enough to make us plan to return in different seasons. If a garden impresses in winter then it will at any time.

So for part two of my “Three Winter Gardens” we shine the spotlight on Cambridge. Look out for a post in the near future looking at the rest of the garden in winter too.

We knew we were in for a treat for within the first 20 yards of our walk after passing through the gate we were mystified by a couple of plants we did not know.

Luckily they were both labelled and I shall say what they are in my post about the gardens in general but first off to the Winter Garden. We were particularly keen to see this seasonal patch as it had been created in 1989 so now it is well established. Many gardens now boast winter borders or winter gardens and we have even created one on our allotment site in the communal areas, but these are mostly immature.

Trees and shrubs give the impact in any winter garden often as here at Cambridge they are birches and willows.

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We were particularly impressed with the use of ground cover, an aspect we have not used very well in our allotment version. We were to learn so much and go home full of enthusiasm to develop effective ground cover in our allotment’s winter garden. Ivies, periwinkles and hellebores added so much. We already use hellebores but not ivies and periwinkles but they present so many opportunities, with all the varieties in leaf colour, variegation and shape in ivies and flower colours in the periwinkles. Bergenias and grasses together worked well in other places, because of their unusual foliage colours and contrasting leaf shape.

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This was a very effective colour combination which in any other season probably wouldn’t have worked. Daphne mezereum and Forsythia Lynwood. Of course the daphne also provided that other essential of any winter border – sweet scent. The sweetest scent of all came from another Daphne, Jacquelin Postill.

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The coloured stems of coppiced and pollarded Cornus (dogwoods) and Salix (willows) have to star in any winter garden and they certainly did here along with Rubus.

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Two gems worth a special mention are the winter flowering iris and the wonderful leaves of Arum italicum marmoratum.

I shall finish with this photo looking back at the gently curving path through the winter border. The third of my winter garden visits will be to Anglesay Abbey, probably the best known and most polular of all the winter gardens in this country. We shall see if it deserves this accolade.

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