Shape, Scent and Colour in Winter

 

Variegated pohutakawa

Variegated holly

I have been trimming and shaping our evergreen shrubs as they come to the fore and attending to hedges now the autumn leaves are fallen and the trees bare of green. The pohutakawa took me ages to identify but the nearby New Zealand flax should maybe have given me a clue to the plant preferences of a previous gardener. We have Arthropodium cirratum (New Zealand rock lily) on site too and I have added Korokia cotoneaster to the New Zealand component. In shaping these already established plants I responded to the shape already presented by the plant,  formalising it a little. In the pohutakawa photo there is also a recently levelled buxus hedge, trimmed calamondins and in the foreground a budding Pieris japonica. The holly is very difficult to shape because as well as being prickly it is perched on the edge of a retaining wall and among other thick growth.

Chimonanthus praecox

Lonicera fragrantissima

Winter scent is now being contributed by the Luculia mentioned in the previous post, by our car park daphne plants and in the garden by Wintersweet Chimonanthus praecox and Winter honeysuckle Lonicera fragrantissima sometimes known as Woodbine, although this name more commonly refers to Lonicera periclymenum, the vine.

Cornus stolonifera ‘Flaviramea’ in front of Cornus alba ‘Sibirica’

The yellow and red stemmed dogwoods have lost their leaves and are now contributing stem colours to the garden. I planted these dogwoods to add winter colour and they have proved very successful. I do think there is some variation in the intensity of the red, depending on the provenance of the actual plant and the nursery it originated from. I bought the yellow stemmed as C.stolonifera ‘Flaviramea’ but it’s more common synonym is C. sericea ,Flaviramea’

 

 

frost edged oregano

We have had a series of frosts and clear days to welcome in winter and now some rain. The buffalo lawn has stopped growing but the rye/fescue is still looking good. I was paid the ultimate compliment a few days ago when a gardener who has done much green keeping told me the Waldorf lawns had a very good colour for this time of year.

early snowflake

The jonquils have been flowering for a couple of weeks and the snowflakes are just starting.

 

 

 

Osteospermums and a lawn of good colour

White brachyscomes, Korokia cotoneaster and Chrysocephalum apiculatum

Luculia gratissima

There are still plenty of Sasanquas in flower and the Luculia gratissima is beginning to flower. The Brachyscomes are flowering at the Gazebo along with some late penstemon and linaria blooms. The gardens are looking lovely at the beginning of winter.

Begonia at stone seat with Sasanqua camellias in the background

I am going to add in a couple of shots taken at the end of May. A farewell to the autumn leaves that  have now fallen from most deciduous trees (with the exception of the Pyrus calleryana. It’s brightly coloured leaves are still falling in the car park). This photo is of one of our Gazebo tripods topped with an old copper float on which Kookaburras love to perch. The autumn colour is provided by an Acer palmatum. The second shot is of the evergreen Clematis cirrhosa “Wisley Cream” trying it’s best to establish against the competition of both large trees and snails. I have surrounded the base of the clematis with a cut off 2 litre milk bottle ringed with copper tape. If the snails can be deterred this clematis will be lovely,

Pyrus calleryana leave and Hellebore foetida in the car park

Gazebo tripod and Maple

Clematis cirrhosa “Wiseley Cream”