The Not So Bleak Mid Winter

The winter season is upon us and along with it comes change, excitement and also a period of calm in the gardening world. After a great summer with many long memorable hot days as well as a delightful autumn, it’s a great time of year to enjoy the cosiness of being tucked away inside during the inclement weather but also a chance to make the most of the clear blue skies and frosty mornings that lie ahead of us.

In the gardening world many plants take a rest for the winter months but it’s also a time where many things come to life! One of my favourite winter and early spring plants are the Hellebores, with the first to flower being the Christmas Rose, Helleborous Niger, with its pure snow-white flowers on short stems, it’s perfect for planting in the borders or containers for winter displays, they are perfectly hardy, flowering during the frosts and rain. Their spring counterparts then follow them on – the blooms of the Lenten Roses, such a beautiful group of plants and also so easy to grow, they have nodding heads in such a beautiful array of pastel colours that they are like nothing else!

Having colour in the garden during the winter months is also seen as a challenge. Some resort to large evergreen shrubs, however these can also look the same all year round. Look towards incorporating some vibrant stem colour from Dogwoods, with their bright orange, red or yellow stems, they bear green or white variegated leaves through the summer season and then, when these fall, their stems come to life.

You can also harvest some of these stems and include them in winter vase arrangements or stick them into your outdoor planters to add some structure and height to low planting, don’t forget to prune back the bushes hard every other year at the end of the winter, this way their new growth will come from lower down and be rich in color rather than fading to brown. Skimmias are also another plant which bears berry-like flowers throughout the winter, these appear in the early autumn and then develop through the winter months, they look just like small red or green berries and are perfect for including in winter planting of pots and containers, or as bushes in your flower beds.

“One constant in our lives is Mother Nature, you don’t have to have the electric meter spinning to enjoy your garden”

In the spring the buds then burst with pure white fragrant flowers, Skimmia Rubella is one of my favourites, with dark green foliage and an abundance of ruby buds followed by white flower, there’s also many female varieties which bear lots of bright red buds, a very attractive group of plants!

Holly bushes are one of the many stalwarts of the winter garden, with plain green leaved varieties often stacked with clusters of red berries, but there is also many with interesting coloured foliage, you can grow these as bushes, let them grow into trees or use them as topiary. Grown with a straight stem and a lollipop bush on top, they’re a good backbone for winter colour in the garden, then, towards the big day, you can then get out there and trim yourself some bunches to help decorate the house.

At the nursery the winter months see the arrival of Christmas at Holden Clough, a time where the nursery becomes a real winter wonderland, filled with all things Christmas and with many events on to celebrate the season including five weekends of Christmas markets, wreath-making workshops in The Potting Shed, an array of beautiful gifts and decorations and of course Christmas-inspired food!

With the opening of our new Tales From The Reading Room Kitchen there’s a chance again to enjoy food inside, around the crackle of the log burner whilst immersing yourself in a tale or two from one of our many gardening books. Whatever the weather a visit to the nursery will lift the spirits and also give you chance to dream about the gardening seasons which lie ahead.

As we look towards 2023 let’s hope that the worldwide situation calms down and things can begin to settle across the board, 2022 saw lots of change, good and also bad but our one constant in our lives is Mother Nature, you don’t have to have the electric meter spinning to enjoy your garden and also enjoy a walk around the beautiful countryside which surrounds us, all we need is a little sunshine, yet when it rains it’s also a nice feeling as the rain can only go skin deep! As soon as the opportunities arise to start planning for the new year which lies ahead, a world of creativity lies outside in your garden, changes are a good thing and it keeps the mind busy and is also filled with reward. The spring bulbs will begin, the sound of birdsong will fill the air and the green leaves will fill the trees.

Along with the days getting longer and the temperature rising, there’s lots to look forward to and in the interim I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and I look forward to sharing many exciting gardening ideas and stories with you for the new year which lies ahead.

Holden Clough Nurseries
Holden, Bolton-by-Bowland
Lancashire BB7 4PF 01200 447615
holdencloughnursery.com

 

NorthernLife Nov/Dec 22