The gardens are settling down for the winter but that means that you can now see the structure and grandeur of the trees without the distraction of their leaves. There are some magnificent specimen trees in the gardens; just look at the patterns of the bark. Some of them look like they’ve almost been combed while others are smooth and shiny. The low winter sunshine shows up the ridges and whorls to great effect. The hedges around the Union Jack Garden are full of holly berries, both red and the more unusual yellow berries. They are a lovely contrast to both the glossy dark green leaves and the more vibrant yellow and green varieties. They will provide a tasty feast for the resident garden birds as they ripen.
Inside the conservatory, there are many plants in flower at the moment. One of the most spectacular is Solanaceae, previously known as Datura, with a common name of Angel’s Trumpet; easy to see why it earned this nickname. The huge white flowers are up to 15cm in diameter and nearly 30cm long. Along the North Wall, the climbers are in flower. If you look inside an individual blossom, you can see the delicate patterning and some of the stamens look like aliens have landed. The pink camellia is flowering with more buds waiting to burst open, and the jasmine is still releasing its gorgeous fragrance into the atmosphere. A treat to look forward to after a winter walk around the gardens.