Magical Winter Gardens and Their Amazing Plants
In the bleakest of midwinters, when the the sky is an unyielding shade of steel and the sun a mere milky shadow, a visit to a Winter Garden does wonders for a gardener's soul. Designed for the greyest skies, they are often nondescript for the rest of the year but come mid December they start to shine, building to a crescendo as winter progresses. Plants are carefully selected for their colour, scent, form and sound and then combined, the resulting picture much more beautiful than the sum of its parts.
Below is a list of our favourites that you can visit this January and some of their key plants which you can purchase at a 15% discount from the Nursery Shop or Online as a Click and Collect purchase. Please note that this offer is only available for members of the Hardy's Gardeners Loyalty Club. If you use the Click and Collect facility your discount will be refunded by contacting the office or when you collect your plants. Please add Hardy's Gardeners to the comments box when you purchase.
We have offered Winter Garden options both close to and at a distance form the Nursery as we know that the Hardy's Gardeners live near and far. But we would encourage you to visit responsibly and safely in accordance with the Government's Covid-19 restrictions.
The Winter Garden at Sir Harold Hillier Gardens
At around 4 acres in total, this is one of the largest Winter Gardens in Europe. Gentle paths take you past striking plant combinations that are bold in colour and form. Trees such as SALIX (willow), BETULA (beech) and ACER (maple) form the upper layer of planting, with CORNUS (dogwood) and ornamental grasses amongst others the middle layer and HELLEBORUS and CYCLAMEN the ground layer. The colourful and fragrant HAMAMELIS collection is wonderful too.
Recommended for Vibrant Plant Combinations you will want to replicate at home.
Key plant: HELLEBORUS
Visits to the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens have to be pre-booked visit www.hants.gov.uk/thingstodo/hilliergardens for more details
The Winter Garden at Mottisfont
Only started in 2009, this is a beautiful enclosed garden that is more intimate in scale than Sir Harold Hillier Gardens and perhaps more relatable to our own gardens. A gentle serpentine path guides you through beds filled with flaming orange CORNUS (dogwood) , OPHIOPOGON (lilyturf) , HELLEBORUS and SARCOCOCCA. The multi-stemmed PRUNUS serrula (Tibetan Cherry) and RUBUS cockburnianus (white stemmed bramble) are particularly stunning.
Key plants: winter-flowering scented LONICERA, HELLEBORUS and OPHIOPOGON
Visits to Mottisfont have to be booked at www.nationaltrust.org.uk
The Oudolf Field at Hauser & Wirth, Bruton, Somerset - only open to local visitors
Designed by Dutch landscape designer Piet Oudolf, the Field is a wonderful example of a perennial meadow incorporating ornamental grasses with year-round interest. But in winter the ethereal beauty of faded perennials and grasses is on display, their seedheads dusted with frost. We grow and sell many of the varieties in the Oudolf Field here at the nursery but it is a treat to see them planted in such interesting drifts and combinations.
Key plants: CALAMAGROSTIS, PERSICARIA, EUPATORIUM, SYMPHYOTRICHUM the list is almost endless
To pre-book your ticket and for opening times go to www.hauserwirth.com/locations