The winter garden was laid out in 2008.
At its height in the winter, but the planting has plenty of structure and texture for spring and summer interest. Sedums, Rudbeckia, Vernonia, Molinia and Miscanthus provide autumn interest.
A bench is situated under an existing Himalayan Birch copse surrounded by the fern Polystichum setiferum ‘Herrenhausen’ with a view towards a tall blue vase. Paths and Beech hedging radiate out from the copse, dividing the garden up into sections.
Blocks of coloured stem Dogwoods including Cornus ‘Mid Winter Fire’, ‘Sibirica’, ‘Flaviramea’ and ‘Kesselringii’ fill the sections, under planted with groundcover of Bergenia ‘Abendglut’, Luzula sylvatica, Erica ‘Springwood Pink’ and ‘Springwood White’.
Highlights are provided by winter and early spring flowering shrubs such as Daphne bholua ‘Jacqueline Postill’, Viburnum farreri “Candidissimum’, Prunus mume ‘Beni Chidori’. Hamamelis provide autumn colour followed by scented frost resistant flowers of red, orange and yellow in winter. Specimens include H.‘Pallida’,‘Jelena’, ‘Brevipetala’, ‘Aphrodite’,and ‘Livia’.
At one end of the winter garden a Hazel copse has been planted. This will be coppiced in the future to provide stakes for the garden. Snowdrops and Helleborus ‘Red Lady’ series provide early colour.
