A WINTER SHOW Be inspired by the frosty beauty of the Walled Garden at Cowdray Park during the colder season
Gardeners might be counting down the days until spring is here again, but there’s a special beauty to be found in gardens at this time of year. We visited the stunning Walled Garden at Cowdray Park for some inspirational ways to bring some winter wow...
There’s something undeniably magical about a garden on a bright, crisp winter’s morning… frost-kissed seedheads, heathers covered in shimmering gossamer spiders’ webs, icy ornamental grasses and bare tree branches forming stark silhouettes against the horizon. It’s good for the soul and, as long as you leave seedheads to stand and don’t sweep up too much, great for wildlife too.
So squeeze every moment of joy out of winter – get up, get rugged up and get outside to benefit from all that your garden has to offer at this oft-overlooked time of year. Most doctors and psychologists agree that being outdoors improves wellbeing, leaving you feeling energised and more alive, while researchers have found that just looking at nature promotes feelings of peace and tranquillity – all the more reason to make your garden a place you want to be every month of the year.
PLANTS FOR WINTER WONDER
The garden has plenty to offer in winter, from flowers and berries bringing bright pops of colour, to scent, dramatic stems and barks. Try planting ilex (holly), pyracantha or japonica, not only for their jewelled clusters of vibrant crimson berries, but also as a handy source of sustenance for visiting wildlife. Hardy winter pansies and cyclamen will enhance flowerbeds with their multi-hued petals, while Helleborus niger, the Christmas rose, which, as its name implies, blooms beautifully throughout the winter months, will provide perfect white flowers offset by deep green leaves.
When planning your own personal Narnia, remember to think about shrubs and trees. Why not try a witch hazel? These hardy deciduous shrubs will brighten up a garden with their red, orange or yellow flowers, depending on the variety, and several are scented too. Coloured stems and bark are always a dramatic winter bonus. Acers, or Japanese maples, are spectacular when they’re in leaf, but Acer griseum also offers winter interest with attractive
peeling chestnut-brown bark. Other great additions are dogwoods (we love the orange-red shoots of Cornus sanguinea, aka ‘Midwinter Fire’) and willows such as Salix alba var vitellina ‘Britzensis’ (the coral bark willow), with bright red stems that pierce the winter gloom.
THE WALLED GARDEN
Seen in these photographs in its winter splendour, the Walled Garden at Cowdray Park in West Sussex is thought to have originally been a Tudor Pleasure Garden visited by Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. It had fallen into disrepair and lay neglected until keen gardener and garden accessory designer Jan Howard leased it as a display space for the spectacular rusted-iron garden structures she designs and makes at her award-winning company, Room in the Garden.
Over the years, Jan – who has exhibited at the Chelsea Flower Show, among other prestigious horticultural events – breathed new life into the place, restoring both the garden and the adjoining building to their former glory. No longer open to the public, this unique retreat once offered visitors a year-round opportunity to experience its fabulous past as they strolled among turf benches, romantic arbours, scented rose gardens, lavender walks, herb gardens, fruit trees and curated herbaceous beds. Jan’s structures can be viewed by appointment; visit roominthegarden.co.uk.
ADD SOME STRUCTURE
Wooden garden elements, such as pergolas and arbours, are great at this pared-back time of year, standing proud even if the garden is blanketed in snow. Bounce what light there is around your space with strategically placed outdoor mirrors that twinkle in the watery sun, and think about adding sculptures and statues that will bring an element of art and personality into even the smallest space. They’ll stand the test of time too – metalwork pieces age gracefully, with iron developing a beautiful flaky orange layer when exposed to the elements, and copper unveiling its distinctive verdigris patina over the years, while stone birdbaths, feeders and ponds look great when weathered and provide a vital source of water for birds and other wildlife.
The Walled Garden in Cowdray Park is thought to have originally been a Tudor Pleasure Garden