John's Garden

I had the joy of visiting the wonderful John's Garden at Ashwood's Nurseries yesterday. Though it was sleeting and bitterly cold in the east wind we were treated to a masterclass in winter planting as we wandered around the garden in the company of John himself and friend and colleague Robert Vernon of Bluebell Arboretum and Nursery. We were treated to the sight of stunning mature Hamamelis with varieties flowering in the full range of yellows, oranges and reds. These are a key feature throughout and John has arguably the best collection in a garden setting. Also superb were a stand of Betula utilis 'Doorenbos', their trunks power-washed to show off their gleaming white bark; in contrast to a group of Acer griseum peeling in cinnamon and mahogany; the heavenly scent of Daphne bhloua 'Jacqueline Postil'; the yellow buds of Cornus officinalis just before it breaks into flower - a supercharged alternative to C. mas; and throughout the borders are drifts of Galanthus, the gorgeous Helleborus x hybridus 'Ashwood Garden Hybrids' for which they are righty famous and such pretty colourful clusters of Cyclamen coum nestling amongst what looked like almost perfectly placed leaf litter and bright evergreen Polypodium ferns. Even the browned off foliage of the grass border along the canal looked stunning in monocromatic sepia. The garden also has an incredible collection of conifers - Abies, Picea, Pinus, Podocarpus etc all pruned, shaped and tended with the greatest care and providing so much more to enjoy than simply an evergreen backdrop to the red, orange, green and yellow stems of Cornus with clever underplanting such as the bright variegated Carex osimensis 'Everest'. Particularly eye-catching Cornus were C. sanguinea 'Anny's Winter Orange' and C. alba 'Baton Rouge'. I find I am evermore drawn to planting for winter, so I came away from the nursery with Mahonia bealei, seduced by it's wonderful scent. The presentation throughout the garden was simply incredible. John himself said he thought his approach to garden design and horticultural practices was no longer the fashion - but I challenge anyone to say anything other than here, in this garden, in winter, it's nothing short of an unrivalled triumph.