Head Gardener Update: Winter Work and Seasonal Reflections
People often ask us what a gardener does in winter, and our answer is always the same: it’s one of our busiest seasons of the year.
There is so much to do, and it can often feel like a battle with the weather. You head out to tackle what should be a simple task, only to find that the current wet ground conditions make it anything but straightforward. We have only just put the mowers away for winter; the weeds are still growing, there’s plenty of planting to be done before the festive period, and there are so many maintenance tasks to keep on top of. Winter really is a key time in any gardening calendar.
A Year Shaped by Major Projects
After a great 2025, now is the perfect moment to reflect on just how much has happened across the gardens.
The main focus this year has undoubtedly been Phase 1 of the Italian Gardens Project, created in collaboration with Tom Stuart-Smith, alongside the Otters planting scheme developed with Professor Nigel Dunnett. These projects champion resilient planting, with plants selected not just for their beauty but for their ability to thrive in the increasingly unpredictable climate we face. By incorporating a sand-and-grit planting mix, we are helping ensure the garden can cope with both drier summers and wetter winters.
Alongside these key projects, we’ve also progressed several smaller initiatives aimed at enriching horticultural interest while enhancing the visitor experience:
- Upper Flower Garden Project — a new perennial scheme bringing heat, colour, and vibrancy
- New interpretation panels and content, rolled out earlier in the year and continually evolving
- Sustainable bulb planting, shifting towards longer-lived bulbs while retaining dramatic potted displays
- A new planting scheme in the shopping village picnic area
- North Jetty Wildlife Garden and the Pedal Kart Track
- Investment in our future tree canopy, with specimen trees planted across the gardens and shopping village
- Refreshing the Long Borders, working back towards Piet Oudolf’s original vision, finished with a generous layer of mushroom compost
- Refreshing all 20 Caisse Versailles planters, with new panels and a fresh lick of paint
Winter in the Gardens
In winter, you really get a sense of the scale and magnitude of the landscape. On cold, frosty, or misty mornings, the gardens can feel like a true winter paradise.
It’s been wonderful to see the Winter Light Trail bringing colour and life to the gardens at this time of year, and even better to see so many people enjoying it. For those visiting in the coming weeks, we recommend exploring the lakeside walk, where winter colour comes from hellebores and snowdrops, along with fragrance and bloom from hamamelis, daphne, and winter honeysuckle. Across the gardens, thousands of early bulbs will soon be emerging to brighten those crisp winter walks.
Looking Ahead to 2026
This year promises to be just as busy. With the significant amount of planting carried out over the past 18 months, much of our focus will be on careful monitoring and aftercare to ensure everything establishes and develops as intended.
A major priority will be delivering Phase 2 of the Italian Garden — essentially a scaled-up version of Phase 1, more than twice the size. We’ll be building on what we’ve achieved last year and applying the lessons learned along the way.
If you ever want to know what we’re doing in the gardens, and why, please do stop and ask a member of the team — we’re always happy to share our work.
Thank You
A huge thank you to our fantastic team of volunteers, whose hard work and passion make everything we do possible. We’re already looking forward to another incredibly busy and rewarding year ahead together.