Don Whitton is a national collection holder of hardy euphorbia and is a member of the Hardy Planters Society. His love of gardening and plants was evident throughout the evening. His talk on 12th November 2024 was full of handy strategies for keen gardeners to survive the dark winter months (November through to February) and was filled with humorous anecdotes and photos of stunning Winter displays.
He started by reminding us not to give up on our gardens as there are many plants that thrive in October and November and into the Winter months. We should make the most of late floral colour. Don highlighted the many flowers that continue to flower through autumn to early Winter including asters, euphorbias, grasses and some salvias and he showed us a photo of a splendid display of dahlias in his neighbour’s allotment in November. He suggested trimming back in the Spring to make the most of any Winter flowers.
The Winter months also bring a wonderful display of colourful leaves (acer palmatum bloodgood and euphorbias), beautiful berries (skimmia and pyracanthas) and attractive bark (cornus alba sibirica). Don reminded us to wonder at the array of Winter flowering shrubs as some are spectacular during the Winter months; for instance, corylus, daphnes and viburnums. Many can be enjoyed by simply taking a walk around your local neighbourhood!
Don also recommended visiting specialist ‘Winter Gardens’ and he highlighted a number of gardens to visit and the best month to go, such as Harlow Carr in December, Bodnant in January, Anglesey Abbey in February and Cambridge Botanical Gardens in March. He also suggested several Snowdrop Gardens including Holme Pierrepont, Rode Hall and Hopton Hall.
The Winter months, weather and daylight permitting, can also be the time to get on with other activities in the garden, i.e. cleaning the greenhouse, starting a new garden project or just general garden maintenance.
When winter herbaceous plants (cyclamen, hellebores, snowdrops) begin to push through, it’s the first sign that Spring is on its way and as gardeners we can start to look forward.
Finally, Don reminded us that when the weather is bad we can enjoy the downtime and start to plan for the Summer!
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