A walk through the gardens

With its short days, grey skies, and wet weather, winter might not seem the time of year to garden, but to retreat indoors. Indeed, one might wonder if there is anything to do; winter must surely leave gardeners at a loose end.

In fact, there is as much work to do as at any other time, and more life in the garden than might be imagined.

At Central Site and at Wychfield, we have continued cutting back herbaceous borders, collecting leaves, and mulching. With the deciduous trees having largely lost their leaves, and the borders having been put to bed, the bare bones of the garden are revealed. Now is an ideal time to make plans for renewing borders or starting new ones because spring is, together with autumn, the best time to plant.

Any sadness at cutting back plants is allayed by signs of spring. Dead-heading and pruning hydrangeas makes their leaf buds visible; collecting leaves reveals snowdrops and hellebores; pruning shrubs and trees regains light and space. The work of winter excavates and opens the way for spring.

In the gardens at Wychfield, life stirs. In front of Wychfield House, Fastigiate oak (Quercus robur ‘Fastigiata’) holds onto its leaves jealously. The white and pink flowers of Viburnum tinus persist, while the scent of Wintersweet (Chimonanthus praecox) fills the air.

Beyond Wychfield House, daffodils (Narcissus) adorn the bank. In the Sculpture Meadow, crocuses appear en masse. The white flowers of the common snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis) brighten the borders.

After the rain, waterdrops hang perilously from the undersides of the red berries of Heavenly Bamboo (Nandina domestica). A close look at the vegetation reveals a ladybird sheltering underneath a stem. The raindrop that hangs from the ladybird speaks to the stillness of hibernation. Life may be surfacing in the garden, but one can sympathise with those not yet ready to emerge.