Greetings from the garden team

Here we are, already heading into our second month of the new year, which is hard to believe. It’s not uncommon to experience snow during February, so while we’re certainly not able to say to goodbye to winter just yet, there will hopefully be signs of re-growth and rejuvenation in the garden here at Leonardslee to give us all a much needed pick-me-up and herald in the beginnings of Spring.

If you’ve visited us recently you may well already have spotted some of the early flowering Rhododendrons in bloom such as the bright pink ‘Nobleanum’ types around the Mansion areas. There have also been plenty of eager Camellias getting in on the action too, including the 100 year old + sasanqua types found growing outside the Doll’s House museum and the stunning pure white of Camellia japonica ‘Nobilissima’ as you approach the Loderi Garden or Camellia vernalis ‘Dawn’ near the glasshouse. We expect to see more early bloomers popping up across the garden as we inch towards Spring proper, so make sure you keep your eyes peeled.

February Flowers

Perhaps one of the most exciting sights in February however will be the explosion of Snowdrops around the garden. A few hardy souls have opened into flower during January, but this is the month when we can expect the show to really start. They can be spotted all across the garden but the dedicated Snowdrop Banks on the west side of Engine Pond and Middle Pond are a good place to start. If you’d rather stay up the top end of the garden, Camellia Walk near the wallaby enclosure is also sure be full of delicate white nodding flowers amongst the leaf litter.

Elsewhere in the garden during February look out for flowering shrubs such as the various Witch Hazels around the lake paths and the large Cornus mas on the way down to the Bluebell Banks with its stunning yellow flowers on bare stems. You’ll also spot plenty of Cyclamen in flower up the top end of the garden at the moment plus some lovely Hellebores, of which we hope to plant plenty more of this year.

Gearing up for our feature season

The garden team continue to be busy as we start to gear up for our feature season. We’ll start our seed sowing in earnest during February for example. We’ve had hundreds of seeds waiting patiently in the fridge all winter but now is a great time to start germinating the likes of our Salvia viridis, Hollyhocks, Verbena hastata, Foxgloves and Cleome seeds for example. We’ll also be pruning our Campsis climbers and cutting back any shrubby Dogwood stems as well as taking hardwood cuttings from some of our important Camellias that we wish to propagate and preserve. This simple process involves selecting a non-flowering shoot of new growth and removing it just above the old wood. We’ll then cut it into sections, each with a leaf node at the tip. These will be placed into moist, but not wet, gritty compost and left in a cool, light spot to develop roots. We’ll then prick them out later in the year and keep potting them on until they’re ready to plant out in the garden.

Another exciting job at this time of the year is planning for new planting projects. We’ll be busy researching plants, drawing up designs and checking the availability with local nurseries for a number of new planting schemes that we’ll hopefully be able to instigate in spring or autumn. Some of the areas in question include around the Mansion, the planting of a series of proper Herbaceous Beds in the courtyard, new plantings in the historic Rock Garden and a new prairie style scheme below the restaurant.

So, as always there is much to see here in the garden this month and also lots for me and my team to be getting stuck into. We hope you enjoy your visits during February and we look forward to seeing you here again soon…

Jamie Harris, Head Gardener

@gardenyjamie on Instagram