Tag: winter shrubs

My Garden Journal 2020 – February

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date March 5, 2020
2 Comments on My Garden Journal 2020 – February

Okay, it’s February in this leap year so we will gain a day, and it is time for another visit to my garden journal. Weather has been interesting this month just because it has been so extreme and variable, wild and wet, with gales, hail, snow, sleet and rain!

On the first page I wrote,“February’s flowering plant of the month, Iris reticulata.” at the page top above a photograph of Iris reticulata ‘Cantab’ and two of my watercolour sketches of the same iris plus one called ‘George. I used Japanese brush pens.

Over the page I painted two Cyclamen growing in our Arabella Garden, which were planted as a clump of five small plants and have now become a lovely ground-hugging patch in shades of pink with a few whites. The foliage is as interesting as the flowers.

On the page opposite I feature a beautiful brown-bronze foliage evergreen shrub, my “Foliage plant of the month. Coprosma ‘Pacific Night!”

More sketches created using Japanese brush pens appear on the next page where I selected a few branches of some of my favourite Salix shrubs, willows, Salix daphnoides, Salix gracilistyla ‘Mount Aso’ and Salix gracilistyla ‘Melanostachys’. We love these for their unusually coloured catkins.

On the opposite page is my “Stem and bark plant of the month, Euonymus alata ‘Blade Runner’, so called because it sports long thin wings alongside each stem and these become a real feature in the winter months.

I finished off my February journal entries with a double page spread of photogrsaphs illustrating our “Gardening tasks for February”.

These tasks included pruning hydrangeas, pollarding our contorted willow, attempting to repair a leak that has appeared in our wildlife pond and beginning the time-consuming task of adding a 2 inch layer of organic compost as a mulch over every border. The most fiddly job was trying to repair our woven willow fence panel that the wild dog from next door decided to break through and create a hole right through.

We also began to create a new water feature for our front garden, a large fibreglass bowl finished in a granite effect ready to become a miniature water feature. We took up a square of turf up and filled the area with a few inches of gravel to sit the bowl in. We now wait until the right time to plant suitable plants.

So that is my February entries for my 2020 Garden Journal. In next month we might be able to report a few early signs of spring.

Tags catkins, Cyclamen coum, deciduous euonymus, foliage, foliage colour, foliage plants, iris, iris reticulata, pruning, salix, shrubs in winter, the garden in winter, willow, winter, winter cyclamen, winter gardens, winter shrubs

garden design garden photography gardening gardens ornamental trees and shrubs Shrewsbury Shropshire shrubs South Shropshire Winter Gardening winter gardens

My Garden Journal 2020 – January

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date February 6, 2020
2 Comments on My Garden Journal 2020 – January

A new year starts here and along with it a new garden journal in a new book. This year I will restructure the format of my journal so that it includes fewer photos and written reports but more paintings. For my title page I wrote, “A year in the life of our garden in drawings, paintings, photos and maybe a few words.”

Each month I will include paintings and sketches, a flowering plant of the month, a foliage plant of the month and a ‘bark and stem’ plant of the month. So enjoy the January pages of my 2020 garden journal.

The first page of my January entries featured two watercolour paintings of our Witch Hazels, Hamamelis ‘Jelena’ and H ‘Diane’.

Page two sees me looking at the amazing winter flowering shrub, Cornus mas. Each month I will feature a “Flowering plant of the month” and this Cornus is my January choice.

“Scented flowers. Deep red berries. Deeply textured bark.”

I then created two more watercolours of flowering winter plants, one shrub and one climber, Daphne bhuloa ‘Jacqueline Postill’ and Jasminum nudiflorum.

I moved onto look at my ‘Foliage plant of the month” and my choice for January is our little collection of Arum italicum.

My final plant of the month is Cornus ‘Midwinter Fire’, January’s plant of the month for stems and bark, with its “Orange stems, orange ‘snake-bark’ trunks, small white flowers and primrose-yellow autumn colour.”

My January entries in my garden journal end with our “Garden tasks for the month”, so it was “Heads down to lay seep hose through borders, prune large branches of Mahonia and pruning Hypericums.”

So that is our January in our garden. We will visit my garden journal in February to see what went on in that month.

Tags arum, cornus mas, Cornus Midwinter Fire, hamamelis, shrubs in winter, the garden in winter, winter, winter garden, winter gardening, winter shrubs, witch hazels

colours garden design garden paths garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public lakes light light quality ornamental trees and shrubs Powis Powys shrubs trees Wales water in the garden woodland woodlands

The Dingle Garden in December

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 16, 2019

Here we are with the final report of our monthly visit to the Dingle Gardens near Welshpool. As we drove down to Welshpool the weather just could not make its mind up what it was going to do, sunny with blue skies one minute, showers of cold rain the next. But once we were actually wandering around the gravel paths of the garden, it settled and we had a dry period for most of our walk. A few minutes of rain arrived just as we finished.

The light was dull and we noticed how variegated plants really came into their own. Gold and green, silver and green, grey and green in every possible combination and patterns. Just see in the first photo how the variegated shrub across the lawn shines out against darker foliaged trees and shrubs.

Variegation in conifers fails to impress me, as sadly it just looks like a bird has been perched above the foliage for a while! See what you think!

Variegated groundcover plants are very effective in the woodland garden as they brighten up dull areas. Silver variegation create mirror effects reflecting any light that gets through the tree canopy.

The raindrops hung around on glaucous foliage and we were surprised just how many plants in this woodland garden displayed glaucous leaves. Variegated foliage adds extra bright spots to woodland patches but glaucous foliage creates gentle subdued spots.

The oldest surviving plants in the UK are the ferns, lichens and mosses and they love the damp atmosphere of the sloping woodland garden here at The Dingle. They add such beautiful shades of bright green and bluish tints, but a few go golden and ginger as winter takes a deeper grasp on the garden.

Berries that were at their most prolific during the autumn months remain in evidence but only just hanging on in ones or twos.

Coloured bark adds interest to decorative trees in the winter and those that peel and drop sheets of their bark are even more interesting.

So, after twelve visits to the woodland garden at The Dingle near Welshpool, we come to the end of this year of visits. Next year we will begin a new series of garden visits. But for now I shall finish this series with a few general views of different parts of the woodland gardens.

Tags foliage, foliage colour, foliage plants, gardens of Powys, glaucous foliage, shrubs in winter, The Dingle Welshpool, trees and shrubs, variegated foliage, variegation, winter, winter garden, winter gardening, winter shrubs, woodland, woodland garden, woodland gardening

colours garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public National Trust ornamental trees and shrubs Shrewsbury Shropshire shrubs The National Trust trees Winter Gardening winter gardens woodland woodlands

A Walk in the Park – February at Attingham Park – Part 2

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date March 4, 2017
2 Comments on A Walk in the Park – February at Attingham Park – Part 2

After enjoying time exploring the walled garden and its outbuildings we continued our wanderings towards the beginning of “The Mile Walk”, passing along the way this tree half covered by orange lichen, which looked so colourful on this dull day.

a9-16 a10-5

On the way we noticed how much moss was growing at the bases of the mature trees and how bright their green colours were. Of course we enjoyed the white sparkles of snowdrops on the way.

a9-01 a9-04 a9-11 a9-03 a9-05 a9-02

There is a wide variety of coniferous evergreens growing close to the path, collected centuries ago under the guidance of Lord Berwick, a keen tree and shrub collector. We looked closely at the freshest of branches to compare colours and shapes.

a9-18 a9-17

It is only in the depth of winter that we can really appreciate the beautifully gnarled lower stem structure of rhododendron bushes.

Old tree trunks hollowed out over centuries always bring the child out in us. We were drawn to it as soon as we spotted it along the riverbank.

a10-4

Closer study revealed wide varieties of texture and pattern.

It is always good to find a little humour in gardens and parks. This worm was enjoying nibbling away at the big apple. What a great way to take advantage of an old uprooted tree stump. The final photo shows a seat which we imagines was rarely used particularly as it was just a few feet from the river!

a2-51 a9-19

Our next visit to Attingham Park will be in March so we are already looking forward to searching for changes. Of course we will be full of anticipation knowing that the new coffee shop is getting close to its opening date!

a10-6 a10-7

Tags Attingham Park, gardens of Shropshire, gardens of the National Trust, mosses, National Trust, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, shrubs in winter, snowdrops, texture, textured bark, The National Trust, winter, winter garden, winter gardening, winter shrubs

colours garden design garden photography gardening gardens hardy perennials light light quality ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture Shropshire trees Winter Gardening winter gardens

My Garden Journal in December

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date December 29, 2016
4 Comments on My Garden Journal in December

Welcome to the final monthly look inside my Garden Journal 2016, when we see what I entered in it during the month of December. Then it will be time to close the 2017 Garden Journal for now, but we share all the journals with our garden visitors on our open days so they regularly get a fresh airing.

“December, the month with the shortest days, the sun getting up late and retiring early. On sunny days the light emphasises the texture and colour on the bark of our trees, which have stark networks of branches looking skeletal and see-through.”

“The colours and textures of our snake-bark maple, Acer rufinerve, become much more visible in the low sunlight of December. Every branch is different. The texture roughens the lower down we look.”

My entries for December continue to consider the trees of our garden, “During our 13 years developing our patch at Avocet, we have continued to increase our selection of small trees. Having just a quarter acre of garden to play with and paint our pictures with plants, we have to choose trees carefully. We have to be careful of the shadows cast and the size and spread of the canopies. I thought it would be fun to list all the trees that now grace our garden from those we planted 13 years ago to tiny seed-grown specimens still in their pots. So I shall take a journey around the garden and find and list of our trees.

In addition to selecting trees for their growth habit we look for more than one season of interest. We linked interesting foliage shapes with good autumn colour, and interesting bark colour with texture. Many of our trees also afforded us the add interest of berries in many colours for us to enjoy in the late summer/autumn and birds to devour in the winter.”

Turning over the page we discover a group of 6 photographs I took in November with the intention of taking the same shots from the same places in December to see how things change.

“In November I took these 6 shots of places that looked good around the Avocet Garden. I have now taken them again from the same location to show how things change in a month.”

jd1-22 ber-2 jd-09

November December

ber-3 jd-03

November December

ber-4 jd-04

November December

ber-1 jd-06

November December

ber-5 berb-1

November December

I thought it would be fun to look at the bark of lots of our trees, both their colours and textures, so took close up photos of sections of the tree trunks.

nj9-13

I wrote, “We are enjoying the varied texture and colour of the bark on our trees. The sun is at its lowest in the sky this month which emphasises the interesting aspects of bark.”

dj2-10 dj2-11 Prunus serrula dj2-09 Betula albosinensis Septentronalis dj2-17 dj2-25 dj2-32 Three Salix

Salix trifolia “Blue Streak”, Salix erythroflexuosa, Salix alba “Brizensis” (our own selection we call “Wendy’s Orange”)

I can now share some close up shots of the bark detail of some of our trees.

dj2-02 dj2-05

Oullins Gage Liquidamber Damson

dj2-03 dj2-23 dj2-18

Strawberry Tree Morello Cherry Cornelian Cherry

dj2-01 dj2-06

Crataegus i. splendens Quince Vranja Prunus Sub. autumnalis

I then took a look back at my December entries of my first ever garden journal and found the words, “Let’s have our look back at my December entry in my first ever garden journal. I wrote, “Visited David Austin Roses nursery to buy roses for obelisks and arches. We did this but also bought nine shrubs for winter colour plus an Arum italicum “Marmoratum” and two willow trees.” All of these plants are still going strong and playing important roles in our garden borders, with the exception of an acer, Acer pennsylvanica Ethrocadum, which sadly succumbed to “an overly strong rootstock and unobservant gardeners!”

nj9-14

Two other plants from our original batch of plantings back at the beginnings of the Avocet patch are looking particularly good now and are strong performers.

Mahonia “Winter Sun”,

dj3-5 dj3-4 dj3-6

and Pittosporum “Garnettii”

Over the next page we find my look at winter structure, where I wrote “December is the month that reveals the importance of structure in the garden. Teextures, light and shade, view points, invitation, archways, pathways, box balls, cloud pruning, entries and exits.”

te-01 $tex-02$ $tex-01$ $tex-04$ te-19 te-18 t-2

I then included a set of five photos illustrating, as I wrote, “structures revealed as leaves fall and plants die back.”

te-13 te-15 te-12 te-16 te-17 $tex-03$

We have taken a close look at our Agapanthus collection on occasion over the last few months in my journal and promised a final look in December, so here is “the return visit to our Agapanthus collection” which I have linked with a page of photos of our collection of Libertias sharing my pics of their “berries and seeds” and their “sword-like foliage.”

te-02 te-11 te-06 te-09 te-07 te-10 te-03

Libertias ………………………

$tex-14$ $tex-05$ $tex-06$ $tex-07$ $tex-10$ $tex-08$

December is the month guaranteed to surprise! End of year surprises! Winter months do have a tendacy to throw up their special surprises, those flowers that pop up out of season to cheer us up with their colour that sparkles in the greyness of the depth of the season.

jd1-25 jd-08 jd-13 jd-11 jd-12 jd-10

Inside the back cover of my now completely full garden journal, I have glued my tree list that readers can pull out to study if they wish.

jd1-27

In the tree list I wandered around the garden from front to back recording all the hardwood plants classified as trees rather than shrubs, making allowances for our particular methods of pruning some shrubs into small trees. I recorded their seasons of interest and their main points of interest or reasons for growing them in our garden.

jd1-28

The Avocet Tree List gave us a bit of an extra December surprise for when we added up the tree list to see how many trees we have planted here in our beautiful patch of land which is our garden at Avocet. The count revealed that we have planted exactly 50 trees during the last 13 years. That is a lot of tree for a quarter acre but every one is so special to us, like a big expanded woody family.

So that is my 2016 Garden Journal. I hope you have enjoyed sharing it with me. Next year I shall create another Garden Journal the format of which is still being worked on. I shall share it with you again.

flowering bulbs garden design garden photography garden ponds garden pools gardening gardens gardens open to the public hardy perennials ornamental trees and shrubs RHS spring bulbs trees water garden water in the garden Winter Gardening winter gardens woodland

A Garden in Winter – RHS Rosemoor – Part 1

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date February 23, 2016

We love to break up the winter months with mid-week breaks away around the UK. In February this year we took off down to Devon for a short holiday where we planned to visit a garden which holds two National Collections, Betulas (Birches) and Alnus (Alders) and the Royal Horticultural Society’s Rosemoor Garden.

My previous couple of posts shared with you our wanderings around Stone Lane Garden and Nursery with its wonderful national collection of Betulas and Alnus. In this post we will share with you the two days we spent exploring the Royal Horticultural Society’ Rosemoor Garden.

We had visited many times before but never in winter before, so we were keen to see if the RHS’s claim that Rosemoor provides “Great days out for every season” and “Rosemoor continues to enchant visitors when the Winter and Foliage Gardens are filled with a surprisingly intoxicating combination of colour, fragrance and texture.”

After a quick coffee in the restaurant we braved the rain and began our walk around.

2016 02 04_8397 2016 02 04_8507 2016 02 04_8430

We made our way towards the Winter Garden which we knew had been redeveloped since we last visited so we longed to see what it looked and felt like now.

2016 02 04_8404 2016 02 04_8401

As expected foliage took a leading role.

2016 02 04_8406 2016 02 04_8408 2016 02 04_8418 2016 02 04_8428 2016 02 04_8429

Coloured stems and bark of shrubs and trees add strong structure to a good winter garden.

2016 02 04_8412 2016 02 04_8413 2016 02 04_8422 2016 02 04_8414 2016 02 04_8424 2016 02 04_8425 2016 02 04_8426 2016 02 04_8453 2016 02 04_8474

After enjoying and being highly impressed with the renovated Winter Garden, we took a gravel path which led us to the Foliage Garden. We were looking forward to seeing the role that foliage could play in the February garden. We were not to be disappointed with what we saw. Perennials and grasses played key roles with the richness of texture and the delicacy of colour. Richly coloured foliage on many shrubs joined the party.

2016 02 04_8454 2016 02 04_8455 2016 02 04_8456 2016 02 04_8457 2016 02 04_8466 2016 02 04_8459 2016 02 04_8460 2016 02 04_8461 2016 02 04_8478

Wherever we went we noticed evidence of the RHS gardeners and the volunteers who worked alongside them. In the Rose Garden these roses had been pruned so precisely just like illustrations in a gardening book . The soil between them had been neatly forked over to give a very professional look to the gardeners’ work.

2016 02 04_8438

When we returned to the restaurant for a warming coffee we noticed in the terrace outside a little wooden framed alpine greenhouse. Here we found an impressive array of flowering bulbs.

2016 02 04_8394

Leaving the alpine house we took meandering paths through the gardens where we noticed many early blooms that added cheer to a day of dull damp weather.

2016 02 04_8419 2016 02 04_8420 2016 02 04_8417 2016 02 04_8434 2016 02 04_8464 2016 02 04_8410 2016 02 04_8488

These paths took us down a gentle slope towards the lake and along the way we passed through open grassed areas where Daffodils and Narcissi had been naturalised. In neighbouring borders swathes of Snowdrops looked like frozen rivers running through shrubs and trees.

2016 02 04_8490 2016 02 04_8492 2016 02 04_8497 2016 02 04_8498

We reached the lake which looked very cold and uninviting but on its banks Cornus and Salix varieties known for their coloured stems added ribbons of very welcome brightness.

A stream fed the lake and we left the lakeside by following a path rising gently through the stream’s valley.

2016 02 04_8496 2016 02 04_8493

This valley with its clear stream ran rapidly through areas of planting. We followed the stream along a gravel path which took us to an underpass through which we wandered to find the original garden at Rosemoor, Lady Anne’s Garden. The little valley dropped down towards the underpass and we saw King Cups flowering profusely providing splashes of golden yellow and clumps of Arum italicum marmoratum gave us splashes of silver in their variegated foliage.

2016 02 04_8528 2016 02 04_8505

Seed heads and fruit from the autumn were still very much in evidence extending the season of interest.

As the valley sides rose higher the atmosphere became damper and we felt the temperature drop slightly as we got closer to the underpass. Lichen grew on trees and on fences. The white bark of Birches and the snow white blooms of Snowdrops shone through in the duller light.

2016 02 04_8524 2016 02 04_8526 2016 02 04_8527 2016 02 04_8523

We were drawn to a Betula with unusually coloured bark and were very pleased to find that it was called Betula albosinsensis “K Ashburner”, named after the owner of Stone Lane Gardens and Nursery.

Scent was held in the valley so we were constantly experiencing the rich aromas of Lonicera, Sarcoccoca and Ribes. Sweetness in the air!

We entered the underpass which would take us under the road we drove along hours before and gained access to the original garden here at Rosemoor, Lady Anne’s Garden. We will be in that part of the garden in Part 2.

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

The Dorothy Clive Garden Month by Month – January

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 21, 2016
3 Comments on The Dorothy Clive Garden Month by Month – January

This is the report of our first visit to this year’s featured garden, the Dorothy Clive Garden. We have been making occasional visits to this beautiful garden for about forty years now and have enjoyed many new developments for this is not a garden to rest on its laurels. It is affiliated to the Royal Horticultural Society and is run by the Friends of Willoughbridge Garden Trust.

2016 01 17_7903_edited-1

The garden was born way back in 1940 when Harry and Dorothy Clive lived in the large white house, Elds Gorse. The first area to be tackled was the old quarry which is now a richly planted Dingle Garden. Harry Clive created this first part of the garden so that his wife, who was suffering from Parkinson’s Disease could take daily exercise in a beautoful garden. Sadly she died in 1942 and Harry continued to develop the garden as a tribute to his wife. In 1958 the Willoughbridge Trust was founded to ensure that the garden continued for ever as a place of “rest and recreation” for the public.

2016 01 17_7843_edited-1

We made the one hour journey to the Dorothy Clive Garden on a very cold morning in mid-January. We were surprised to drive through areas of snow and arrived at the garden to find snow covering the garden in a shallow layer. We left our tracks in the snow as did a Grey Heron before us.

2016 01 17_7846

Snow decorated the foliage of trees and shrubs where later in the year we will discover the colours and scents of their flowers. The weight of wet melting snow bent grasses down towards the ground and gave the plants a graceful shape.

2016 01 17_7794 2016 01 17_7807

The first view of the garden opened up before us as we climbed a gently sloping path towards the tea shop which in winter doubles up as the ticket office. Naturally we were tempted by the aroma of warm coffee and the sight of home made cakes. The little flower arrangements in the centre of each table added to the warm welcome we received from the staff.

2016 01 17_7790 2016 01 17_7798

Just outside the tearoom the little nursery area held plants hidden under snow and sculptures of rabbits and hares wearing hats of snow. The gardeners had been painting acorn fence-post tops a gentle shade of green.

2016 01 17_7795 2016 01 17_7796 2016 01 17_7797

We left the tea shop and mini-nursery to walk towards the Dingle Garden an area of woodland garden created in an old quarry. Snow topped off the buds and leaves of Azaleas and Rhododendrons and the seed heads of the occasional herbaceous perennials.

2016 01 17_7870 2016 01 17_7874 2016 01 17_7815 2016 01 17_7813

But we were particularly delighted to find flowers out, the simplest of Snowdrops with droplets of melted snow hanging from their stems, the occasional Rhododendrons and Camellias and Witch Hazels in sunshine colours.

The overnight snow and ice had turned this pink Rhododendron translucent and delicate, while the flowers in the Camellia Walk were just managing to hang on. The pink scented flowers of this Daphne however shrugged off the cold and looked fresh and cheerful.

2016 01 17_7881_edited-1

Hydrangeas looked as good covered in seed heads as they do in flower with gentle biscuit and ginger hues.

2016 01 17_7825

During the winter when undergrowth has died away and low growing deciduous shrubs have dropped their leaves the trunks of Rhododendrons and Azaleas are exposed. We can then appreciate their amazing scrolls and curlicues.

2016 01 17_7830 2016 01 17_7868

The new winter garden at the Dorothy Clive Garden was a surprise to us as it is totally new so we didn’t know it existed. A great surprise! The Laburnum Arch through which we left the Winter Garden has been a popular feature of the garden for many years.

The colours and textures of trees can add so much to any garden and the gardeners at Dorothy Clive certainly know how to choose them and place them to best advantage.

You only need the tiniest touch of light on berries to make them sparkle. The last drops of melting snow hung on many.

2016 01 17_7898

Mahonias are always a good plant in any garden with their glossy evergreen leaves which show rich autumn colours and in the winter yellow scented flowers appear to be followed by black berries with a white floury dusting.

2016 01 17_7885 2016 01 17_7891

We shall return for part two of this January visit to our feature garden of 2016 to see what other treats the Dorothy Clive Garden has in store for us.

Tags azaleas, betulas, coloured bark, coloured stems, Dorothy Clive Garden, rhododendrons, Shropshire, snowdrops, spring bulbs, Staffordshire, winter, winter garden, winter gardening, winter gardens, winter shrubs

autumn autumn colours climbing plants colours flowering bulbs garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public hardy perennials Herefordshire irises light light quality National Trust ornamental trees and shrubs poppies roses shrubs The National Trust walled gardens Winter Gardening winter gardens

Croft Castle – month by month – the final report

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date December 23, 2015
3 Comments on Croft Castle – month by month – the final report

Illness has prevented us making our monthly visit to Croft Castle where I would take photographs and report back about all that is going on in the gardens of this Herefordshire property run by the National Trust. Thus this final visit for the year took place in early December and will be a joint report for November and December together.

Tags apple trees, apples, berried shrubs, berries, flowering shrubs, Herefordshire, Herefordshire gardens, nerines, ornamental shrubs, perennial wallflowers, scent, scent in the garden, scented plants, scented shrubs, trees and shrubs, walled garden, walled gardens, winter shrubs

Cheshire colours flowering bulbs garden design garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public irises light light quality National Trust ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture shrubs spring bulbs Winter Gardening winter gardens

Three Winter Gardens – Part One Dunham Massey

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date April 13, 2014

Every year we visit a winter garden but this year as a special treat to make up for such a wet, windy winter we decided to indulge ourselves by enjoying three. We aimed to visit Dunham Massey in Cheshire, Cambridge Botanic Garden and Anglesey Abbey.

The first was a National Trust property in Cheshire, Dunham Massey, a fairly recent addition to the new fashion of gardens designed to be at their best in the coldest time of the year.

When you approach the entrance to the winter garden here you pass an avenue of pleached trees with the most magical silhouettes. Years of heavy pruning has produced such interesting shapes.

We visited Dunham Massey a few years ago when the Winter Gardens were first opened so we entered with great anticipation. A couple of small mixed borders of winter interest give hints of what is to come. We remembered passing an open woodland area with native narcissi beneath the immature trees before being confronted by the two massed plantings of of Betula utilis “Doorenbos” one of the best white trunked birches. On one side of us the birches were in rows on the other they were planted randomly. What a sight it was like walking into mist. Snowdrops beneath white birches bring cheer to any cold day.

As in any winter garden scent plays an important role. Shrubs and bulbs team up to gently seduce the visitors with their various perfumes. Winter Honeysuckle, Viburnums, Cornus, Witch Hazels and Skimmias all have a part to play.

We were caught by surprise when we found this startlingly white sculpture amongst the shrubs and bulbs.

Other trees had bark to delight and catkins to enthrall.

Bulbs have to star in any winter garden and here they are planted en masse under trees and amongst shrubs.

At this time of year shadows are long and very noticeable features of any mature garden.

2014 02 25_6735 2014 02 25_6734

2014 02 25_6730

Seed heads which have overwintered and survived to add interest now seem to attract the winter light. The best must be those found on various hydrangeas, with their dried flowers like parchment.

I shall finish this visit with a few general views of borders to help give a sense of the atmosphere created by the National Trust’s gardeners at Dunham Massey.

For our next winter garden we will be off to Cambridge where we will be taking a look at the University Botanic Garden.

Tags Cheshire, Dunham Massey, flowering shrubs, winter, winter garden, winter shrubs

colours garden design garden photography gardening grasses hardy perennials ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs photography shrubs Winter Gardening winter gardens

A January Bouquet

Think of January in the garden. Could you put together a bouquet? This is my new monthly garden blogging challenge, and starting in January most certainly throws me in at the deep end. But here goes…………………

Here are the first couple of pages of my sketch pad for the new year.

In this cold month colourful flowers can be used to create a bouquet, but you can also experience and enjoy a bouquet of scents.

So firstly what is delighting us with colour?

The rather inappropriately named Prunus x subhirtella autumnalis, with blossom of the palest pink, stunning against a pure blue sky.

The perennial wallflower, Erysium Bowles Mauve flowers in almost every month of the year, but is very special in January.

The first flowering bulb of the year is the Winter Aconite, Hyemalis, with its buttercup flowers close to the ground. The Flowering Quince, Chaenomales greets visitors to “Avocet” with its bright sun-set red flowers giving a warm welcome alongside the gate post at the bottom of the drive. The Cornelian Cherry, properly called Cornus mas dominates the “Freda Border” at the top of the drive. It is covered from head to toe with bunches of acid yellow umbels. They are little nuggets of gold.

White is appreciated more in the dark days of winter. The pussy willow’s furry white blooms huddle along the black stems of our Violet Willow by the wildlife pond. As grasses reach their end, prior to me pruning them back to the ground, their flower heads are white and silver.

And who keeps us warm with their scent in the cold? Sarcoccoca, Witch Hazels, Viburnum and the first Daphne of the year Daphne bhuloa “Jacqueline Postil”. She glows pink, a unique pink with hints of blue and violet. Her scent is mesmerizing.