The Winter Garden -The Cambridge University Botanic Garden.

This wonderful garden which was opened in 1846 was the brainchild of Darwin ’s friend and mentor , the nifty plant scientist : Professor John Stevens Henslow . It is a marvellous place to visit all year round but a especial treat in winter .

We set off yesterday leave our home in Suffolk enshrouded in mist . The conditions forecast did n’t let us down though and when we arrive in Cambridge it was to be met by sunshine and clear naughty skies . I first notice the winter garden here about 20 years ago and I was bowled over by it . Since then other winter gardens have open up and we are lucky to have the rattling Anglesey Abbey winter garden in East Anglia . This one was geezerhood onwards of all the others though . I have always been an avid gatherer of plants which look good in winter and here they all were corral in one south- facing , gloriously fragrant garden . It is surround by hedges and has been dug out so that it is slightly contoured and the main itinerary snakes through the lower part . There is also a narrower path which takes you through the top part of the garden .

Of course the most important factor in a wintertime garden is fragrance . Here as you approach the wintertime garden you take the air along a track fragrant with hedge ofSarcococca . Some new women were walk along with their toddlers and asked me what the fab olfactory sensation was . I showed them the plant and severalise them that it is predict ‘ Sarcococca ’ . ‘ But what is itsreal name ? ’ one of them expect . I ensure her that the real name is ‘ Sarcococca ’ . ‘ Yes , butwhat is its proper name?’She said . ‘ Sarcococca ruscifolia’I replied . They belong off tutting in irritation . I do n’t trust it ’s pedantic to importune on the proper Romance names for plants . If you are going to get word a name you might as well ascertain the right one . I believe the vernacular name is ‘ Sweet Box ’ but I did n’t say them that . Sarcococcais not a Buxus . Anyway if you love plants you should dignify them with their right name .

As you enter the winter garden you are encounter by the very near of all winter scent . Daphne bhloua‘Jacqueline Postill ’ .

There are several lovely specimen ofChimonanthus praecoxin the garden . What really intrigued me is how they vary in colouring . Flora Weatherleft a gossip on my post about a Chimonanthusshe has ordered and she think it looked white in the characterization . I thought it must be the photograph which made it look snowy because I was convinced they were all chickenhearted . I was astounded to find the firstChimomanthusI come to growing in a shadowy spot and looking so pallid it was almost whitened . It smelt divine and was cover in heyday . I always thought it call for sun to flower well . I did n’t much care for the colouring material though it looked wishy - washy . Other George Walker Bush had the yellow efflorescence which I believed they all had . I have to say though that after canvas them all I realize that myChimonanthus , the one I wrote about in a recent post , isChimonanthus praecox‘Grandiflorus ’ . I am drear if I misled anyone ; I grew it from come 16 years ago and the supporter who gave me the seed told me that it wasChimonanthus praecox . The flowers of mine are larger and a deeply yellow so it is not surprising thatAnnettewho loves wintertime - flowering plants too , ary asking me if it wasChimonanthus luteus .

Fragrance is carried on through the garden with large shrubs ofViburnum bodantenseandLonicera x purpusii . A keister is placed by theMahonia japonicaso you could sit and drink in the perfume if you are hardy enough on a January day .

I thought there would be more witch hazels but I eff a dainty , chicken one at the far end of the garden . I do n’t know which it is ; someone had steal the label . Who are these mass who steal labels ? They should n’t be let out without their keepers .

Hamamelis x intermedia‘Jelena ’ was looking brilliant . I reckon it is one of the best of the witch hazels . This is a great shrub , perfectly full of flowers and gear up off beautifully byBerberis wilsoniaeon one side , a lovely bronzey grass at its feet and the ghost brambleRubus biflorusmaking chalk white patterns on the other side . Berberis wilsoniaeis endearing for autumn and winter ; it is humble and makes minuscule pitcher’s mound of pretty leaves which take on endearing autumn tints . It has fiddling coral coloured berries .

Rubus biflorusis not as invasive as the whiteRubus cockburnianusand it has a more interesting room of growing sideways into a glorious ashen tangle . It has edible berries too . I waffle to recommend any of these blackberry bush congener though . I grow this one and it did look keen in wintertime but it had a atrocious wont of coming up everywhere . I hump the means it fix a wiry ceiling for snowdrops and aconites .

I had never come across the endearing dark shiny stems ofRubus niveusbefore . I looked it up and patently it has become a terrible nuisance in places like the Galapogos Islands where it has been introduced . I wo n’t be seeking this one out .

Coloured stems and barque are essential in the wintertime garden . I loved the wayCornus alba‘Sibirica ’ was grown with Malus pumila greenHelleborus foetidusandBergenia‘Bressingham Ruby ’ .

Salix alba‘Chermesina has bright orange halt each year coming up from pollarded trunks .

The distort hazel ; Corylus avellana ‘ Contorta ’ which E.A. Bowles uprise in the area of his garden known as ‘ the lunatic asylum ’ seem great in winter . I do n’t like it so much in summertime though when it looks pathologic .

The trees with wonderful barque are : genus Prunus serrulawhich looks as if someone has polished it .

Acer griseumis gorgeous with cinnamon colour bark hanging in tatters .

There is a wonderful , mature birch treeBetula utilisvar.jacquemontii . It is set off by pure livid Anemone quinquefolia .

The birch tree which I always consort with this garden isBetula albosinensisvar.septrionalis . The bark is an amazing mixture of gloss ; cop , pick , buff , pink , possibly a bit orangey . It is really center catch .

Interesting foliation is not neglected . Colletia paradoxais very unusual and it has slight fragrant efflorescence in the fall . It has vicious , strung-out thorns , so one has to keep a reverential aloofness .

The silk – tassel bush;Garrya elliptica‘James Roof ’ has long , slivery green catkins and leathery green leaves . I thought it was frost proof but mine got poorly cauterize last year and I had to cut it right down . This count as if it came through last wintertime unscathed .

I wish the estimate of meander interesting ivies through snowdrops , aconites and the contraband grass , Ophiopogon planiscapus‘Nigrescens ’ .

I must finish with some snowdrops . This is a new one to meGalanthus x valentinei ssp.valentinei . It sounds like a tautology to me but plant scientist know best . I believeGalanthus xvalentineiis the name given to a crossbreeding betweenGalanthus nivalisandGalanthus plicatus .

20 Responses toThe Winter Garden -The Cambridge University Botanic Garden.

I really enjoyed wander round with you , this is a garden that has been on my regard list for old age , I do love visiting wintertime gardens with their beautiful colors and textures .

Oh what a bacchanalia of colour Chloris . So glad that I read this as I ’m off to see my ma in Peterborough soon and was thinking of nipping over to Cambridge to visit the Botanical Garden if the weather is reasonable . I know now what a delicacy lies in store for me . Are you sure that it ’s human throw off with the label ? 🙂

give thanks you for divvy up this wondrous garden , Chloris ! You ’ve incite me to think more about fragrance , which is miss in my own garden at the moment .

The Winter Garden -The Cambridge University Botanic Garden.