PLACES TO VISIT
Recommended places to see seasonal plants at their best both in Europe and the UK Near the small village of Wilhelminaoord in the north of the Netherlands is the well-known nursery Kwekerij Arborealis. It’s a traditional nursery owned by Micha Wieland and Sietske Metz that offers a contemporary selection of shrubs and trees, including a wide range of viburnums and hydrangeas. Micha and Sietske are also proponents of forest gardening – a sustainable agroforestry system that uses companion planting to build an edible woodland habitat of fruit and nut trees, shrubs, herbs, vines and perennial vegetables grown in a succession of layers – and the nursery offers a huge range of plants suited to this system. Twice a year Micha and Sietske bring a selection of their favourites to the specialist plant fairs we run at De Kleine Plantage and there’s often one plant I’m surprised to discover is edible. Dirk de Ruiterpad 2, 8384 DD Wilhelminaoord, the Netherlands. Tel +31 (0)521 383696, arborealis.nl
If the idea of forest gardening intrigues then you can see it in action at Trompenburg Tuinen & Arboretum in Rotterdam. It’s a peaceful, green oasis in the centre of this busy city, and a lovely garden to explore. It also has a very special collection of trees, perennials, bulbs and tubers, and holds the Dutch national collections of Quercus, Fagus, Ilex and Hosta. Honingerdijk 86, 3062 NX Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Tel +31 (0)10 233 0166, trompenburg.nl
A good garden to explore in winter in the
UK is RHS Garden Harlow Carr in North Yorkshire. Covering an area of around 68 acres, the gardens include woodlands that at this time of year are ablaze with the firework stems of several Cornus and Salix cultivars. Harrogate, North Yorkshire HG3 1QB. Tel 01423 565418, rhs.org.uk
Described by James Alexander-Sinclair as the ‘garden makeover of the decade’, Trentham Gardens, near Stoke-onTrent, are the stunning backdrop to a shopping village. Trentham was once home to the Dukes of Sutherland and the estate boasts an impressive, mile-long ‘Capability’ Brown-designed lake, but its main draw are the new gardens by two of Europe’s finest designers. In November, the formal structure of Tom StuartSmith’s Italian Garden comes to the fore, and flanking this on both sides are two 120m-long borders by the Dutch designer, Piet Oudolf. Here swathes of coloured grasses look fabulous in November, and seedheads provide beautiful strong structure and texture throughout winter. Well worth a visit. The Trentham Estate, Stone Road, Trentham, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire ST4 8JG. Tel 01782 646646, trentham.co.uk
Trentham is perhaps one of Piet’s best known gardens, but it wasn’t his first public garden in the UK. That honour goes to the Millennium Garden at Pensthorpe Natural Park in Norfolk. In late summer, the garden is a wonderful tapestry of colour but is possibly at its best in early winter, when seedheads are transformed into glistening jewels by the first frosts of November. Grasses, such as Miscanthus and Panicum, take on an eerie beauty in the low winter sun. Pensthorpe Natural Park, Fakenham Road, Fakenham, Norfolk NR21 0LN. Tel 01328 851465, pensthorpe.com