December 2016 | The Garden 57

Temperatures may be cooler, but gardens with winter interest offer a warm reception. At the four RHS Gardens, winter

gardens have undergone redesigns with fresh planting »Author: Nicola Oakey, former Trainee Horticultural Journalist for The Garden.

Photography: Neil Hepworth

Welcoming in winter

Sea of greenThe Winter Walk at RHS Garden Harlow Carr in North Yorkshire combines large swaths of block planting, such as Hebe rakaiensis (pictured) with a Salix kinuyanagi (which has since been removed). In the foreground, robust lime-green hellebore flowers offset the golden-yellow, ribbon-like flowers of Hamamelis x intermedia.

December 2016 | The Garden 5958 The Garden | December 2016

Winter gardens

Swaths of stemsAlthough predominantly combinations of stems, the mix of colours, growing habits and the occasional evergreen in the Harlow Carr Winter Walk create a border with depth and impact. The near-black stems of Cornus alba ‘Kesselringii’ stand proudly against a backdrop of red Acer pensylvanicum ‘Erythrocladum’ and arching yellow Salix x sepulcralis var. chrysocoma.

Delights at ground levelLarge blocks of mature shrubs may form the backbone of a winter planting, but bulbs are the elegant finishing touches. Harlow Carr has planted 5,000 irises in the Winter Walk. Their rich, intricate blooms, such as Iris ‘George’ (left), make a good contrast to the warm reds and yellows of stems, and are enhanced by snowdrops in early spring. »

Mixing shapes, texture and sizesThe Winter Walk at Harlow Carr makes full use of stems and leaves. The season of interest starts as the leaves change colour in autumn and continues through to spring bulbs.

✤ Ghostly trunks of Betula utilis var. jacquemontii make great specimen trees and punctuate the borders. An upright tree, to 18m (59ft) tall, its leaves turn golden in autumn.

✤ Blocks of evergreen plants create a backdrop to stems and add leaf interest. Silver foliage of Brachyglottis offsets the bright Cornus stems and adds a frosted appearance, even on mild winter days.

✤ A winter-garden stalwart, Cornus sanguinea ‘Midwinter Fire’ is a spreading shrub to 2m (6½ft) tall. Here, they are pruned back hard in spring so that colourful new growth is produced for winter interest.

More winter gardens

Key Winter Walk plantsHebe ochracea ‘James Stirling’Dense, low, dwarf evergreen shrub with unusual foliage colour. Small white flowers in spring. ✤ Hardiness: H4 (−10 to −5°c / 14 to 23°f).

Pulmonaria ‘Diana Clare’Semi-evergreen, low-growing perennial with silver-tinted foliage. Violet-blue flowers from late winter into early spring. ✤ Hardiness: H6 (−20 to −15°c / −4 to 5°f).

Arum italicum subsp. italicum ‘Marmoratum’Tuberous, winter green perennial to 35cm (14in) with arrow-shaped, glossy leaves and cream veins.✤ Hardiness: H6 (−20 to −15°c / −4 to 5°f).

Prunus mume ‘Beni-chidori’Small deciduous tree with cerise-pink, sweetly scented flowers in late winter to early spring. Height: 2.5m (8ft). ✤ Hardiness: H5 (−15 to −10°c / 5 to 14°f).

Euphorbia characias subsp. wulfeniiErect, medium-sized, evergreen shrubby perennial with rounded heads of greenish-yellow flowers in spring. ✤ Hardiness: H5 (−15 to −10°c / 5 to 14°f).

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RHS Garden Harlow Carr’s Winter Walk

It is about time we banished the stereotype that winter is an uneventful season in the garden. There is such hope and anticipation for the fresh growth of spring that the colder months are easily forgotten, even though winter can feel like the longest season of all.

The Winter Walk at RHS Garden Harlow Carr is testament to the excitement and allure that winter planting can create. Now in its 10th year, but by no means complete, this area of the garden is undergoing a new phase of development that will increase its size. Further pathways will be added, and borders expanded, to make way for bigger blocks of planting and a greater choice of plants.

The Winter Walk started with mainly stem colours for

interest, but is now filled with layers of planting, from delicate bulbs to statuesque trees. New additions include the white-striated bark of Acer davidii ‘Serpentine’ – a small deciduous tree that has fiery autumn colour – and the unusual white berries of Callicarpa japonica ‘Leucocarpa’, which last into winter on bare stems. More bulbs have been planted recently, including late-November-flowering Galanthus elwesii ‘Mrs Macnamara’, and additional daphnes fill the air with sweet scent. ‘Our planting schemes are designed to make the best of morning and late afternoon sun, which illuminates stems and outlines shapes,’ said Horticulturist Russell Watkins.

The Winter Walk continues to get better each year and provides a lavish display to rival any summer planting.

December 2016 | The Garden 6160 The Garden | December 2016

Winter gardens

Exploring other RHS winter gardens

Bodnant GardenAt its best during December and January, the Winter Garden was only opened in 2013, but is already full of interest. Near Colwyn Bay, Conwy.

Sir Harold Hillier GardensThe 1.6ha (4 acre) Winter Garden is full of contrasting plant combinations creating unexpected views. Near Romsey, Hampshire.

Winter interest at RHS Partner Gardens

Osterley Park and HouseThis newly planted Winter Garden is still developing, and includes structural seedheads and tactile bark. Near Isleworth, London.

RHS Garden RosemoorWhen the Winter Garden at Rosemoor, Devon was redeveloped earlier this year, several large conifers were removed to make way for a more diverse range of plants and additional structure. Removing these also allowed for path edging and resurfacing works to refresh the 20-year-old garden.

Around 20 Erica cultivars have now been added to the scheme, including RHS Award of Garden Merit winner E. x veitchii ‘Exeter’ – a large, bushy, evergreen shrub with fragrant white flowers in winter. Other low-growing, spreading heathers have been planted together (left) to form a carpet of colour around trees with interesting bark, such as Acer griseum and birches. Evergreens such as Pieris, Skimmia and Pinus extend the season of interest.✤ Garden illuminations: see RHS Life, p81.

RHS Garden Wisley Spread across Seven Acres, the Winter Walk at Wisley

in Surrey is also going through exciting change as the area is improved. This autumn, hundreds of new

plants and bulbs were added, and unusual evergreens among the borders include the weeping branches of Cedrus atlantica (Glauca Group) ‘Glauca

Pendula’ (right) growing against a backdrop of pollarded Salix alba var. vitellina ‘Yelverton’. Other

structure comes from the ghostly white, multi-stemmed trunks of Betula utilis var. jacquemontii. Around the garden, further winter-interest plants

have been added, including Edgeworthia chrysantha ‘Grandiflora’, and masses of Crocus ‘Jeanne d’Arc’.

Anglesey Abbey GardensThe Winter Garden follows a winding path flanked by deep borders, as well as a grove of Himalayan silver birch. Near Cambridge.

Cambo GardensDuring February and March the 28ha (70 acres) of woodland is carpeted with a mass of aconites and snowdrops. Near St. Andrews, Fife.

More informationRHS Gardens are open all year except Christmas day. For more details, visit: www.rhs.org.uk/gardens

✤ RHS Garden Wisley, Woking, Surrey GU23 6QB. Open: Mon–Fri 10am–4.30pm, Sat–Sun 9am–4.30pm.

✤ RHS Garden Harlow Carr, Crag Lane, Beckwithshaw, Harrogate, North Yorkshire HG3 1QB. Open: 9.30am–4pm.

✤ RHS Garden Rosemoor, Great Torrington, Devon EX38 8PH. Open: 10am–5pm.

✤ RHS Garden Hyde Hall, Creephedge Lane, Rettendon, Chelmsford, Essex CM3 8ET. Open: 10am–4pm.

For sparkling RHS Partner Gardens to visit in winter, see www.rhs.org.uk/partnergardens

RHS Garden Hyde Hall At RHS Garden Hyde Hall in Essex, the Winter Garden is only just taking shape, having been started this year. About 19,000 tons of soil were moved from elsewhere in the garden to create the new area with a gently curving path that moves between mounded borders on either side. Totalling 150m (492ft) long, the new Winter Garden is a celebration of how important the colder months are for life in the garden. The planting design includes all the necessary seasonal staples – bright stems, bark textures, bulbs and fragrance – but there is also an emphasis on the transitions between the seasons. Large blocks of herbaceous planting with robust foliage and seedheads will also add structure into the colder months.

✤ From May, visitors will be able to walk through the new area and watch it develop.

‘...the new Winter Garden is a celebration of how important the colder months are for life in the garden.’

Malus ‘Adirondack’ (top), Calamagrostis x acutiflora

‘Karl Foerster’ (middle) and Cornus officinalis (above)

are included in the planting.

London Hampshire Conwy

Cambridgeshire FifeGardens to

visit for free in December

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