A winter garden in Sandwich

One of my clients planted an area of their garden specifically for winter interest back in 2001. That means that I get to see it once it’s reached maturity. 

I went there recently to take some plant photographs which I’m going to share in this post.

Korean fir

When I first visited this garden, I walked around with the owners. We chatted about their plants and future hopes for the garden. It was immediately obvious that I was among fellow “botanophiles”.

As we entered their Winter Garden, one of the first plants I noticed was Abies koreana (Korean Fir); not something you see in most home gardens. I first saw this plant back in 2010 when visiting the garden of world renowned plant hunter, Ron McBeath.

The dense foliage of Abies koreana

Its dense foliage with bright stomatal bands look great; and if you’re lucky enough to get cones, they’re quite special. This plant hasn’t produced cones yet, but hopefully it will in the next few years. Fingers crossed!

Winter fragrance

Winter definitely has some of the most fragrant flowering plants, and this garden has a good selection of them.

Chimonanthus praecox has one of the most powerful fragrances. It comes from China and is a medium to large shrub, well suited to a sunny position in most gardens.

Chimonanthus praecox in full flower.
A closer look at the amazingly fragrant flowers of Chimonanthus praecox.

Perhaps my favourite winter scent is that of Daphne bholua. These shrubs are increasingly popular in gardens, but originate from the Himalayas. 

They’re an upright, semi-evergreen Daphne with white to purple flowers from January. When in full flower, it can completely fill the surrounding area with its sweet fragrance.

Daphne bholua is definitely one of my favourite plants.

Established plants sucker, and these suckers can be dug up and spread around the garden  or given to friends.

Showy bark

But some of the most impressive gardens plants aren’t known for their flowers. One of my favourites is the Chinese Red Birch (Betula albosinensis).

It has this amazing red papery bark that peels off in sheets.

Probably my favourite birch species when it comes to attractive bark.

Just as impressive is Cornus sanguinea ‘Midwinter Fire’, one of the many stem dogwoods.

For the brightest dogwood stems, you’ll need to cut the plant back hard each year in late winter. This encourages lots of fresh young growth that will look great the following winter. 

Cornus sanguinea 'Midwinter Fire' doing its thing in the middle of winter.

Clematis cirrhosa

This is a plant I haven’t seen since I worked at RHS Wisley. There was one growing up an oak tree at the top of the rock garden. This one is growing up a Hamamelis (quite the winter combination).

Clematis cirrhosa growing up the framework of a Hamamelis which is almost ready to flower.

My friend Ivan helped me remember the species name. He linked the word “cirrhosis” to “liver spot” and the purple spots on the white petals. It’s funny the techniques we use to remember plant names. Thanks Ivan.

The inside of Clematis cirrhosa flowers are definitely more impressive than the outside.

Hydrangea quercifolia

Most Hydragea are grown for their showy flowers, but H. quercifolia might be an exception. 

The flowers aren’t bad at all, but its leaves are especially cool!

The dried-up flowers and winter foliage of Hydrangea quercifolia are a perfect combination for winter interest.

This Hydrangea is deciduous like most other species, but it holds onto its leaves for most of the winter.

As the weather cools in autumn, the leaves start to darken and take on a bronze/red hue. Oh yea, and as the name suggest, the leaves are similar in shape to the leaves of an oak tree.

This photo (from our own garden) shows the winter hues of Hydrangea quercifolia.

Winter colour of Mahonia

Another plant with some interesting winter colour is this Mahnoia. I don’t know which type this one is, but it’s looking very nice right now.

I’m not sure whether the reddening of the foliage has been brought on by the cold, wintery weather, or some other form of stress. Only spring will tell.

I don't know which Mahonia this is, but its winter foiage colour is very impressive.

Plants that look extra special with a bit of frost

Something I love about winter is leaving the house in the morning to find that we’ve had a hard frost. It coats the leaves and seed heads throughout the garden giving them a whole new appearance.

These Miscanthus seed heads really appreciated the cold.

Miscanthus sinensis is definitely one of the best ornamental grasses. Its flowers are on show from mid summer until late winter when they should be cut back.

As does this Osmanthus. I think it must be Osmanthus heterophyllus ‘Goshiki’

Osmanthus heterophyllus 'Goshiki' foliage looking super with a bit of frost.

Some other plants in this garden that looked at home with a touch of frost included these Erica.

Erica (a genus of heather) flowering very well in the middle of winter.
A white flowering heather (Erica) doing its thing with a background of Cornus sanguinea 'Midwinter Fire'.

A very frosted Hebe.

Hebe covered but not hindered by a layer of frost.

Some kind of Juniperus.

There's a Juniper underneath this frost, I promise.
There it is!

And this Nepeta growing in front of a Miscanthus sinensis.

Not known for its winter interest, but I think this Nepeta looks great with frost on it. The bronze backdrop of Miscanthus sinensis contrasts really well with the icy Nepeta stems.

I’m looking forward to photographing more plants in this garden over the next few weeks. One of my favourite plants (Stachyurus praecox) is in bud and should be flowering very soon.

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This Post Has One Comment

  1. Josephine Vary

    Such an interesting and inspiring write up and photos of the ‘winter garden’. Thanks to you and also your client for allowing you to create share this post.

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