Back in January it was a soggy changeable day when I, as a new parks officer, met Head Gardener Alastair Carden and Claire Smith, Gardener, to catch-up on what the gardeners were up to as we headed into spring. Join me as I traversed the gardens in winter. If your visiting soon you’ll see how quickly all the colours have changed!
In the background, among the bird song, I could hear the low hum of hedges being gently trimmed, the steady fountain like aerator in the pond, and the rustling of ornamental bamboo (more on bamboo later this week).
We started in the formal gardens, where the Trachycarpus fortunei’s (Windmill Palm) had their winter jackets on, as did a few of the beds to help keep the frost off, and in part to guard against the cheeky bulb eating resident wildlife, who sometimes have their own ideas for the garden.
There were 5 varieties of Daffodil (Narcissus) emerging in the formal beds; ‘Tete-a-tete’, ‘Kedron’, ‘Snow Baby’, ‘Quail’, ‘Baby Moon’, ‘Intrigue’, which would later give a shining display in spring before giving way to the summer bedding.
Preparations for these bulbs started back in late summer/ autumn 2023. Since they were planted the daffodil bulbs have multiplied, so each spring these beds burst into an abundance of joyous yellow.
On approaching the formal gardens, from the Writtle end pedestrian entrance (near stop 8 on the garden tour), frequent visitors may notice an area which has been changing over the last few seasons. From a concept starting back in 2022, this quiet corner is now well over halfway through its development.
The border, designed by gardener Claire, has been opened up, allowing for a brighter view, with a mix of seasonal planting promoting a pollinator friendly entrance into the gardens.
Formerly crushed by overgrown Laurels, the area has been gradually cleared, with old stumps being dug up both manually and mechanically, for use as habitats elsewhere. Topsoil has been reused from other parks, after screening, to level the ground. Plants like the Ferns, were lifted, split and replanted for added seasonal interest.
The bedding here will continue to develop and change through the seasons, but in late January, the Hellebores were bringing renewed peace to this junction and helping to tie this area in with others around the formal garden.
Over in the One World Garden there was a heavy hit of the winter flowering Sarcococca confusa, an evergreen sweet box, enjoyed by pollinators and birds alike for its sweet honey scented flowers and dark berries. The hazel catkins were forming in their arch after a refreshing winter coppicing, prior to their leaves returning at this popular selfie-spot.
The One World Garden really does have something to see and smell all year round, but shines most through the spring into summer as the Camellias, Verbenas and ranges of grass start to return to top form.
Hopping into the Hanbury Garden, the buds on the nearly 100-year-old Rhododendron ‘Cynthia’ (pictured above), set out by Christine Hanbury, were developing at great pace in January, and by May are putting on a wonderfully vivid display again this year. But in case you needed another reason to pop by, the views from this garden perfectly frame the changeable seasonal colours of the wider parkland, making it a lovely spot to come back to time and time again.
At the time I visited in late January, the showstopper, in my view, of all the gardens had to be the Winter Walk, another area which is constantly evolving.
The Winter Walk is full of contrasting textures and colours, with varieties of vivid reds, oranges and yellows from the Cornus (Dogwood’s), ornamental grasses showing rustic to black shades, evergreen shrubs, and the delicate purple-white flowers of the Daphne bholua ‘Jacqueline Postill’ shrub, which will change to black berries later in the year. There is just so much see, not forgetting the white of the peeling birch bark, the pale ornamental bramble stems (Rubus cockburnianus), the distinctive Mahonias, and the fragile Snowdrops, together with timeless Heathers placed around the boarder. I wish I could list them all here, but you will have to come see for yourself, as even on a rainy day this is not an area to be missed.
Further into the Winter Walk preparations are continuing for its gradual extension over the coming years.
So much has changed since January, in winter the dogwoods brought needed colour, in March and April the daffodils sang, mid-April saw the Blue Bells make an all to brief appearance in the woodland, and the Wisteria which was bare back in January was showing off in May.
I cannot wait to see what the rest of this year will bring to the gardens, if you can’t wait either you can see more on the history of the gardens and the estate on the Hyland’s Park Estate website
Yours sincerely,
Parks and Green Spaces
