“We wanted to create a natural look”
This atmospheric woodland idyll is carpeted with thousands of snowdrops in winter. Owner Jo Hynes shares its story
Thousands of snowdrops carpet this atmospheric woodland idyll in winter
This bright and sunny woodland garden has a host of exciting plants to catch the eye in winter. “The whole garden is carpeted with snowdrops from January onwards,” says owner Jo Hynes, who lives here with her husband Tom. “I’m a keen collector and grower, and we have around 400 named cultivars. They’re planted in all the beds and woodland areas, so the garden becomes suddenly very white. It’s like the sun is shining, even on a dull day.” Hellebores grow like weeds here, and the couple keeps a National Plant Collection of cyclamen too. “Cyclamen coum is probably my favourite,” says Jo. “It’s nice and easy to grow, and self seeds. They look great in a pot and flower for ages.” focal points (clockwise from above left) Box edges give shape to a corner bed of rosemary, rhododendron and euphorbia; lawn paths work as ‘desire lines’ to a greenhouse and bench; galanthus ‘Jack Hynes’; G. plicatus ‘Madelaine’ with golden ovary; G. plicatus; an avenue of pollarded Salix alba ‘Britzensis’, with snowdrops and cyclamen
The rural garden lies between Exmoor and Dartmoor in Devon. “Our soil is a very challenging wet, acidic clay,” says Jo. “We’re 500ft above sea level too, at the end of a west-facing valley, so we get the full brunt of the prevailing wind and rain. “One of the first things we did was plant trees and shrubs to create shelter, which has given the garden its woodland character. We chose natives including hazel, oak, rowan and lime because they can all cope with the conditions here. Gradually we added specimen trees – sorbus, Cercis canadensis, cercidiphyllum, acers and colourful salix cultivars – so now our woodland area is full of seasonal colour and interest.
Cyclamen coum look great in a pot and flower for ages
“Underneath the trees we’ve planted snowdrops, cyclamen, hellebores, anemones and arums – all the little things that flower when the decidious leaves are off.” When the couple first moved here 28 years ago, the entire garden was laid to grass. “Our house has a small farm attached,” explains Jo. “We farmed it for a long time and still have veg plots and a chicken run, but now we’re semi-retired and a farming neighbour grazes his Lleyn sheep on it.” The couple had a clear plan for the garden from the outset. “We wanted a naturalistic woodland garden that blended in with its countryside setting,” says Jo. “So there are no ‘rooms’, but areas of planting with ‘desire lines’ to get from A to B. We’ve created a ‘superhighway’ of gravel paths to navigate the garden when it’s muddy in winter, and a curving grass path that runs beneath an avenue of pollarded willows.” Colourful Salix alba vitellina ‘Britzensis’ make a stunning focal point and their stems are useful too. “They’re great for basket weaving,” says Jo. “’Britzensis’ is very easy to bend and holds its colour well. We pollard them every year in late-March early-April. “To plant them you just make a hole with a crowbar and shove in a two-year-old stem – no roots necessary. The stems will root and produce sideshoots that can be trimmed in their second year. Finally you stop them at natural drama (clockwise from top left) An Acer palmatum provides a bold silhouette among snowdrops and mossy rocks; evergreen ferns and rhododendrons with snowdrops; plants grow in clumps and drifts; hamamelis ‘Aphrodite’; curving paths invite exploration; cyclamen house; willow Salix rubra ‘Eugenei’ has been woven and judiciously pruned into a diamond trellis
the desired height – which took about five years. They’re as high as Tom can safely hold a chainsaw!” Not only is Tom a dab-hand with the power tools, he’s also a dry stone waller too. “He’s used our local ‘shillet’ stone to make raised beds and path edging,” says Jo. “He hired a mini digger to excavate a 7ft garden slope and used the stones to make the terrace walls and an alpine rockery.” Tom and Jo are both passionate about ecology and spend holidays observing plants in their natural habitat. “It’s good to see how they grow in the wild so you can try to replicate those conditions in the garden. “We like to drift plants through borders and encourage self seeding – especially the cyclamen as you get all sorts of lovely leaf patterns. We try to mingle plants together as they would in the wild; the evergreen ferns are particularly useful.”
We wanted a naturalistic garden that blended with its countryside setting