Winter Wonderland

January 4, 2012

January can be such a gloomy month! The post- Christmas blues can so easily descend along with the rain, wind and general mud and muck.

But Stone Lane Gardens is the perfect antidote. Our birch look wonderful during this time. Their bark glows with colour at a time of year when gardens traditionally look drab. As you enter the garden, you will see the birch shining ahead of you. With their warm colours and tactile peeling bark, they are such an approachable tree. Lifting the spirits.

And with January comes the flowering of Alnus hirsuta, the first alder in our collection to flower. These trees from the far east become a mass of waving male catkins.

And with this oddly mild winter, we have king-cups and geraniums in flower. And the bulbs are already breaking the surface far earlier than they should. I can’t help feeling that some plants are in for a nasty shock when the cold weather finally arrives.

This time of year is a time of reflection in the garden. It is peaceful even in a gale. The birds are always active in the branches and undergrowth. A sheltered little world where you can wander and study the details that you miss when everything is in leaf and flower.

Come and visit – enjoy a side of the garden that summer visitors never see.

Paul Bartlett – Garden Manager