Winter 2008/09 at Wakehurst Place

Garden Highlights

From the start of the year into spring, the Winter Garden delights with coloured stems, architectural effects and surprising winter flowers. Witch hazels (Hamamelis) charm in January with their spidery blooms on bare stems. Pale yellow flowers on Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Pallida’ are amongst the first, followed by the red of H. ‘Diane’. One of our most impressive shrubs, rare in gardens, is the Himalayan Daphne bholua. This evergreen can be seen flowering until mid-March in the Winter Garden. We also have huge drifts planted through Westwood Valley, where their sweet fragrance can be detected long before the mauve blooms are seen.

Coloured stem effects are a prominent feature. Low winter sun glances off upright stems of Cornus in shades of yellow (C. sericea ‘Flaviramea’), black (C. alba ‘Kesselringii’) and brilliant red (C. alba ‘Sibirica’). In January, they are joined by heathers, with Erica carnea and larger Erica x darleyensis in shades from white to deep red. Throughout winter, our National Collection of Skimmia shows the value of these shrubs, with mounds of glossy leaves the perfect foil for scarlet or whiteberries. Even in the hardest of frosts, Cyclamen coum continues to bloom in the Winter Garden and by the Visitor Centre.

In the Southern Hemisphere Garden, a great deal of clearance and redevelopment work has taken place recently. The team have worked hard to improve our geographic layout and make it easier to appreciate the extraordinary plants from this region. Planning collecting trips and redevelopment in tandem means some areas are currently a little empty, but the beds are ready to receive rare and fascinating plants from our nursery. The protea family is a particular speciality at Wakehurst, and the first to flower are Australian Hakea, with spidery white blooms in March. These will be followed by the Chilean firebush (Embothrium coccineum) and Australian waratah (Telopea oreades and T. truncata) in May – well worth another visit. With winter stems on our National Collection of birches and early spring primroses heralding the bluebells to come, this is a fascinating time of year at Wakehurst. Why not take a guided tour with our knowledgeable volunteer guides? Tours run daily and take around one to one-and-a-half hours. On the second and fourth Thursday of each month at 2pm, we take a longer walk through Horsebridge Wood, Coates’  Wood and Bethlehem Wood. This can take 3 hours or more, but gives a fascinating insight into our wonderful trees.

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