“…some attractive plant supports so my perennials don’t flop.”

Head of Horticulture Sally Petitt explains how to create a winter wonderland in your own garden

Louise Curley visits Cambridge Botanic’s Winter Garden,

The winter garden at Cambridge University’s Botanic Garden is a feast for the senses. It sparkles in frost, as ice crystals cling to colourful stems and leaves, while shining bark gleams in the low winter sunlight, the air heavy with the perfume of winter flowers. It was one of the first places in the UK to devote an area of planting to trees, shrubs, perennials and bulbs for winter interest, and has become the go-to place for seasonal inspiration. It continues to evolve with exciting new cultivars and planting combinations.

Here, Sally Petitt, Head of Horticulture, shares her insights into the garden, and advises on how to create something in a similar vein within your own space.

How did the winter garden come about? We had an area devoted to winter plants here in the 1950s but it was very formal. Then in the late 1970s it was decided that we needed a new ornamental winter garden to encourage visitors to come here at that time of year. That opened to the public in 1979.

What are the main elements?

We chose an open, south-facing site to make the most of the low winter sun. It’s hedged on all sides with box at the front, privet and Lonicera nitida, trimmed low enough to allow visitors to see the winter planting from other parts of the garden. Taller hedges of yew and thuja help to enclose the space, creating a sheltered microclimate. The ground was sculpted into a valley-like hollow, and the planting developed along gulleys.

Now, a path runs through the area that undulates and meanders, slowing people down and allowing them to take in various aspects of the garden, offering different views.

What are the key plants?

We’ve got trees, shrubs, perennials, grasses and bulbs, but one of the key plants is Cornus alba ‘Sibirica’ with its brilliant red stems; it’s become a signature plant here.

We’ve also got a fantastic Acer griseum, and Betula albosinensis with its pinky- ➤

white, peeling bark, which we’ve planted closely in a trio so you get an almost multi-stem effect. Daphne bholua

‘Jacqueline Postill’ at one entrance has the most sublime scent. The large snowdrop ‘S. Arnott’ does really well here and Colletia paradoxa, the aeroplane plant, is fun because its spines look like the wings of Concorde.

Chimonanthus praecox looks lovely covered in frost as does Miscanthus sinensis

‘Ferner Osten’ and brambles such as Rubus phoenicolasius (Japanese wineberry). It has delicate spines and stems in lovely russet tones. It’s quite dense and more compact than some brambles, so you get a greater density of arching stems; it looks beautiful in the low winter sunlight and combines well with the bark of Acer griseum.

How has the garden evolved? It’s now more than 40 years old and some of the trees have had to be replaced, which has given us the chance to add a Prunus serrula. We’re looking to remove juniper ‘Grey Owl’ because it’s become so dominant, so we’ll introduce some more dogwoods there. We want to retain the spirit of our winter garden while keeping the planting fresh. We’ve introduced New Zealand plants such as evergreen ozothamnus ‘Wards Silver’, Libertia peregrinans, which has a lovely orange colour all year, and Muehlenbeckia astonii with its quirky zig-zag stems; it looks stunning covered in raindrops – like crystal beads. We’re also trying dwarf conifers such as Pinus mugo ‘Ophir’.

How can we create something similar on a smaller scale? It’s easy to translate this to a smaller space; you could even recreate something in a container. Just think about mixing textures, forms and colours – that’s the key. Try a dogwood underplanted with bergenias, Helleborus foetidus and snowdrops. As a starting point for a sunny spot by a back door, Sarcococca confusa is brilliant because it’s so fragrant, perhaps underplanted with bulbs and a blue fescue or sedge (carex).

What sort of maintenance is required? We leave all the stems and flowering plants until spring to prune or cut down. We weed throughout summer then mulch in autumn. Dogwoods don’t grow really vigorously here, so we coppice them in late winter, leaving about four or five stems, which gives better growth and stronger stem colour. ✿

Arching stems look beautiful in the low winter sunlight

A winding path leads past shrubs offering a bright tapestry of colour and shape in the depths of winter