Garden News | February 2024
Crikey, it’s February already. Time really does fly when you’re having fun in the garden at Leonardslee! February is the month when we can start to think about saying goodbye to winter and welcoming in the signs of a hopeful new spring. In fact, although we had a relatively sustained cold spell at the start of January, the end of the last month has been unseasonably warm so there are already signs of colour popping in to life around the gardens, so why not see what you can spot the next time you’re here.
As you start to meander along the garden paths this month, you’ll certainly notice plenty of early-flowering Camellia on your journey. Whether it’s the likes of Camellia ‘Masayoshi’ with its raspberry ripple effect or the pure white, flushed with pink of ‘Lady McCulloch’ or even the highly ruffled pink hues of ‘Little Bit’ in Camellia Walk for instance. Elsewhere the stunning soft pink of C. ‘Barbara Hillier’ in the Loderi Garden or one of the many japonica types found in Camellia Grove perhaps that are already colouring up and joining the sasanqua types that should still be flowering near the Clocktower Kitchen, there is much to enjoy.
Our Rhododendron collection won’t be in its full pomp until probably late April usually but there are already some of the brave, early flowerers doing their thing right now. In the Loderi Garden itself one of my favourites is Rhododendron ririei with it’s good-enough-to eat-but please-don’t Parma Violet-coloured blooms. Elsewhere some of the reliable earlies also include R. ‘Nobleanum Coccineum’ near Daffodil Lawn, a bright cerise coloured variety that will busy blooming this month.
One of my favourite Winter shrubs is the Sarcococca, also know as the Christmas Box. It may be a long time since Christmas but this plant is hitting full flower at the moment and it smells amazing. You’ll find Sarcococca humilis and S. hookeriana in various locations in the garden and you’ll probably catch their scent in the air before you see them. The reason that Winter-flowering shrubs are often so heavily scented is that they have to work extra hard to attract the few pollinating insects around at this time of year, which is of course great news for us!
There are also plenty of hellebores to enjoy in February in areas such as Camellia Walk, the Stumpery Beds and in the raised beds near the entrance building. Other low-growing highlights include the many early Iris that are showing their heads about the freshly-mulched soil, the beautiful golden yellow of Eranthis hyemalis (Winter Aconites), the ever-popular Cyclamen and perhaps the star of the February show – the Snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis)! The aptly named Snowdrop Rise down on the west side of the lakes near the Engine House café is the most obvious place to start but you’ll also be able to seek them out in the Rock Garden, the beds near Leonardslee House and in Camellia Walk to name but a few locations.
What are the gardens up to:
Some people may think that winter is a quiet time for gardeners but far from it here at Leonardslee. We’ll be busy finishing up the likes of mulching the ornamental beds and leaf clearing this month but also making a start on some key jobs for this time of year. Our Campsis climbers will need a prune in February for example. Found here growing up the Doll’s House Museum and the Courtyard Café walls, this job involves cutting back all the sideshoots to within two or three buds of the main stems as well as removing any weak growth and cutting back damaged stems close to their base.
We’ll also be cutting back deciduous ornamental grasses towards the end of this month. We’ll cut them to the base before any new fresh growth has a chance to emerge so that when they do, they have a clear, unencumbered path to the light. Cornus stems on shrubby ornamental dogwoods can also be cut back at this time of year, again towards the end of the month. Here we’ll tackle the likes of ‘Anny’s Winter Orange’ down at the lakes and Cornus alba in the raised beds in this manner, although if it’s very cold in February we might leave this job until March. Either way, this process should be done before new leaves start to appear and will allow plenty of fresh, new growth to appear which will provide the stunning coloured stems for next Winter. And of course, any cut stems can easily be propagated, providing us with new plants for planting out later in the year.
In the glasshouse we’ll begin the marathon seed sowing work as well in February, although this work will stretch out into March and beyond too. We’ll be sowing seeds for displays of annuals and biennials around the garden such as Foxgloves, Verbascum and Hollyhocks for instance and for the bedding plants we use in some of our container schemes.
What to look forward to:
As we creep towards spring my mind also turns to the year ahead and some of the exciting projects we have in mind for 2024. We’ll continue to try and extend our seasonal interest by adding more summer colour across the garden but also starting to think about more winter interest for our visitors. We hope to add at least one Winter Walk or Winter Garden this year and the team here have been visiting other gardens with dedicated winter areas for inspiration, so watch this space.
We also hope to add an orchard this year as well as some sensory planting in our new play area which you’ll no doubt have seen being constructed along the eastern edge of the car park recently. Other key plans include the first phase of work to open up the last closed area of the garden – The Hillside Garden (as named by the Loder family in the historic documents we’ve seen), found on the eastern banks of the lakes. We’ve been busy clearing Rhododendron ponticum (an invasive thug that is also a vector for the Phytopthora ramorum pathogen), hard pruning Rhododendron luteum back to eye level, opening up overgrown paths, removing bracken and brambles and checking the safety of the trees in the area. It’s an exciting project which our woods volunteers have been working hard on over the last couple of years so it will be great to open up the first phase of this in the not too distant future.
These are but a few of the plans and ideas we have for the garden here at Leonardslee during 2024. There are plenty more projects and additions planned in the near future, but many of these I can’t reveal as yet due to ongoing planning and funding discussions we’re still having. But rest assured, there are exciting times ahead for the visitors and staff alike here. I look forward to seeing you all in the garden again very soon and don’t forget there are guided tours of the garden at 10.30am on February 5th and 21st this month.
Jamie Harris, Head Gardener
