The Winter Garden

If I say ‘winter garden’ what do you imagine? A stately tree, pretty all year round with crimson leaves in the home? Evergreen shrubs? Topiary maybe? autumn then a characteristic chestnut bark which It dawned on me a few years ago when I was out peels naturally to reveal bright orange red bark walking the dog on a frosty morning that winter underneath. gardens are really all about the light. From late Look for plants with architectural shapes such as autumn through the winter there is a pink-gold low one of the sculptural eryngiums (sea holly), salvias or slanting light in the morning and afternoon which sedums. All look beautiful in the summer and autumn makes frost and raindrops sparkle, casts interesting but gain a second lease of life when covered with shadows and makes everything look magical. frosted cobwebs. Watch your garden throughout the day from the Plants like these will make you want to get out in rooms you where you see it best. Watch where and your garden even in winter, so add a little scent with when the sunlight falls and plan accordingly. a winter jasmine or a sarcococca confusa (Christmas Grasses look beautiful when they are covered in frost box) which has tiny white highly scented flowers. and backlit. The red or yellow winter stems of Cornus These late flowering plants provide a source of nectar (or dogwood) however seem to glow when winter for early pollinators. sunshine illuminates them directly. I no longer tidy my flower beds. I leave piles of fallen Most suburban houses have smaller gardens, easily leaves and debris in beds to provide shelter for visible from the house so it’s important to choose wildlife. The leaves to rot down in the end which is plants which look good in more than one season. good for the soil too. But I do spend time neatening As well as shrubs with good stem colour, look for the edge of the lawn and sharpening the edges of my smaller trees with pretty bark. There are plenty of borders. It’s amazing how much smarter my garden small Japanese Maples which can be grown in tubs. looks with minimal effort. If you have a little more space a silver birch can look stunning, or even my favourite, the paper-bark I wish you a Happy New Year maple, Acer griseum, which is a slow-growing small and happy gardening. To advertise in The Villager and Town Life please call 01767 261122 43