GARDEN magic with Garden Designer, Sally Cunis
Early last year my mother and I spent an enchanted day visiting a private garden in Lincolnshire for their annual Snowdrop and Aconite walk.
The garden sits snugly in a bend in a river, wrapped around by streams and woodland the ideal setting for a spring garden. We were captivated by drifts of snowdrops, butter-yellow aconites and Iris reticulata backed by generous clumps of Hellebores ranging in colour from pure white to the darkest purple. The paths meander alongside the streams, which feed into the main river, and around the outside of high curved walls which contain the more formal gardens within which the Hall sits. It is a peaceful, dreamy place.
Forget-me-not blue Brunnera was already flowering in a sheltered spot clinging to the banks of the stream with crocus massed in glorious groups of butter yellow and heavenly purple. The low plantings of crocus, snowdrops and hardy cyclamen, with their marbled heart-shaped leaves snaked through a fabulous upper level of planting which filled the air with delicious scent. Daphne odora “aureo-marginata”, Sarcococca (Sweet box) and Lonicera x purpusii “Winter Beauty” (woody honeysuckle) attract early pollinators with their strong perfume even though their flowers are insignificant compared to their blowsier summer cousins. Ribes laurifolium, an evergreen shrub with greenish yellow, sweet smelling flowers was a delight, the perfect foil to the spring bulbs.
Coloured dogwoods and willow formed an upper layer with light woodland giving shelter.
Spring Iris Reticulata “Katharine Hodgkin” Hellebore Purple Crocus
Climbers are trained up the outer walls of the inner garden whilst across the river snowdrops and aconites romped away in great sheets, again interspersed by dogwoods and trees. The dainty Iris “Katharine Hodgkin” grows in little clumps by a bench where it can be observed from above as you sit to watch the river flow by.
Snowdrops and Aconites Woodland with snowdrops Daphne Odora “Aureo-marginata”
The garden within the walls is traditional in layout and it was a joy to see masses of bulbs flowering under the old trees in a sheltered spot away from the formality of the clipped box and the kitchen garden. Back at my mother’s garden we wandered down her snowdrop walk which she has been developing for many years. From the main garden, you start by taking a path between clumps of Hellebores, Aconites and Viburnum bodnantense; it then weaves it way through great clumps of Galanthus nivalis set within two parallel, ancient laid hedges which, to an extent, keep out the bitter east wind. At the end of the walk she is establishing an area of bluebells which she and my father sourced some years ago as bulbs. Inspired by winter walks, garden visits and especially my mother, we
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aroundtownmagazine.co.uk Aconites
are now planting our own wriggly snowdrop walk through an area of light woodland to a garden gate. Snowdrops should be moved in the green so now is the ideal time to do this; indeed my mother has just sent me a large box of mixed Galanthus nivalis and flore pleno snowdrops in the green as a birthday gift to boost our planting. We are also adding some Hellebores, crocus and wild primroses from elsewhere in the garden and popping in some Narcissi “Tête à Tête”. We have planted a Viburnum Tinus for structure and early flowering and will follow with a couple of Viburnum Bodnantense and some coloured dogwoods; now is a good time to prune back dogwoods to ensure good colour and fresh stems for next spring. Prunus Autumnalis is an old favourite and I would like to add a couple to the edge of this area if possible as well as some berrying bushes.
In addition, we plan to fix some bird boxes to the existing trees for the many garden birds which visit our garden.
I can’t wait for my mother to see what we are up to!
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