PLACES TO VISIT
Recommended places to see seasonal plants at their best both in Europe and the UK
The Wadden Islands form a long archipelago in the North Sea that stretches from the Netherlands to Denmark. Five of the inhabited islands lie off the Dutch coast and the smallest of these is Schiermonnikoog. The island is rich in fauna and flora, and in 1989 was designated a National Park. Although it’s just nine miles long and two miles wide, the island includes a vast range of different habitats, including forests, saline grasslands, dunes, mudflats and polders – all filled with flowers. As you’d expect it’s especially rich in coastal plants, such as seabuckthorn, sea lavender, sea wormwood and sea aster as well as many different types of lichens and mushrooms. The island is also home to thousands of birds, including barnacle geese, spoonbills and hen harriers, making Schiermonnikoog a fabulous destination for bird lovers as much as gardeners. The island is mainly car free, and there are several places to stay to give you time to enjoy all it has to offer. In low winter light the landscape of sandbanks, marshes, and the endless beach with unspoilt views takes on a desolate beauty. Reeweg 5, 9166 PW, Schiermonnikoog, the Netherlands. Tel +31 (0)519 53 12 33, vvvschiermonnikoog.nl
The Netherlands’ oldest botanical garden is Hortus Botanicus Leiden, which dates back to the 1590s. It was here that the botanist Carolus Clusius (15261609) bred the first large collection of that most
iconic of Dutch flowers, the tulip. You can get an idea of what the garden was like when Clusius became its first director in 1594, from the Clusius Garden, which has been renovated with new plants. But beyond this first garden there is much more to explore including tropical glasshouses, a large systematic garden, an arboretum and a Japanese garden that displays the links the garden has to the plant collector Philipp Franz von Siebold, who in the 19th century introduced more than 700 new plants to Europe from Japan. Open 10am-4pm, €7.50. Rapenburg 73, 2311 GJ Leiden, the Netherlands. Tel +31 (0)71 527 5144 hortusleiden.nl/en
One of our favourite winter gardens in the UK is that of Polesden Lacey in Surrey. Created by the late rose expert Graham Stuart Thomas (1909-2003), the garden is hidden away behind the gardener’s cottage in a quiet corner of the formal gardens, and is centred around three Persian ironwoods ( Parrotia persica) linked by winter aconites. It also features winter shrubs, including viburnum and sweet box and other fragrant plants, as well as collections of snowdrops and colourful hellebores. Great Bookham, nr Dorking, Surrey RH5 6BD. Tel 01372 452048, nationaltrust.org.uk
In winter it’s sometimes nice to escape the wind and the rain for the warmth of a glasshouse. So, if you haven’t yet visited the restored Temperate House at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, then a cold, winter day is your perfect excuse. The restoration, which took five years to complete, was the biggest renovation project in Kew’s history and involved replacing thousands of panes of glass and repairing the intricate ironwork and paved flooring. Open daily 10am-3.30pm. Kew, Richmond, London TW9 3AE. kew.org