Now the festive season is over we are excited to welcome visitors back to our Gardens.
While our gardeners are busy getting ready for early spring, there are still many winter delights to enjoy.
Daphne (Daphne odora)
If you are looking to add some colour and fragrance to your garden for mid-late winter, Daphnes are a great option. The clusters of tiny pink flowers are just coming out in our borders. Although the flowers may seem small they have a powerful, sweet scent. You can often smell them before you see them just walking along our paths.
Witch hazel (Hamamelis)
Another shrub bringing colour to the mid and late-winter days; our witch hazel displays yellow, tassel-like flowers with a deep, purple centre that is sweetly scented. The shrub’s bark produces a clear sap that is widely used in essential oils, skincare and medicine. This process is usually done in spring when there is more sap for new growth. You can see these pretty shrubs in the Old Manor House Garden by Temple Lake and near the Walled Garden entrance.
Ornamental quince (Chaenomeles japonica)
An ornamental quince is great for year-round interest. Located next to the Manor House, its deep red blossoms are adding a rich colour to our Gardens in mid-winter. Flowering before the leaves come back, there is an abundance of buds which will bloom throughout early spring. The shrub will also bear sweetly-scented yellow fruit in autumn.
Winter jasmine (Jasminum sieboldianum)
Another sweetly scented and cheery, winter flower is jasmine. A popular and hardy shrub, the yellow colour stands out from its bare winter branches. Creating a welcoming archway to our Walled Garden, our gardeners have been cutting back its fast-growing branches to keep the entrance clear.
Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’ (corkscrew hazel)
The corkscrew hazel is less colourful than other flowering shrubs, but the interest here is on the stems themselves. More visible in winter once its leaves have dropped, they bare yellow catkins in late winter. The stems can be cut for ideal additions to flower arrangements. You can find this particular shrub near the entrance to the Walled Garden.
Early Signs of Spring
Due to the cold snap and snow we received in December, followed by the mild January weather, spring seems to be fast approaching. There are plenty of sights to appreciate and spring flowers to look forward to these coming weeks on a visit to our Gardens.
View our winter opening hours here.
