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A Winter Garden Wonderland in Cheshire

28th October, 2009

A new winter garden is to open at the National Trust’s Dunham Massey estate in Cheshire from Monday 2 November. At seven acres, it will be the largest garden of its kind in Britain, enabling visitors to access Dunham’s gardens all year round.

A Georgian mansion with magnificent Edwardian interiors, Dunham Massey is already home to what is regarded as one of the great plantsman’s gardens of North West England. Edwardian elegance has been retained and reflected in the design and planting of the new Winter Garden, led by Dunham’s Head Gardener, Damian Harris, with guidance from leading plantsman, Roy Lancaster, OBE.

The creation and development of the Winter Garden has been in direct response to visitors’ requests for access to Dunham Massey’s gardens during the winter season.

Visitors will be able to enjoy many winter garden highlights. These will include the Camellia Walk, where 50 different types of evergreen and flowering camellias are underplanted with cyclamen to add splashes of bright colour to the garden in late winter/early spring. More than 10,000 plants will provide carpets of brilliant colour in the Cyclamen Grove, whilst swathes of blue and purple in the Bluebell Meadow will complement an existing area of English bluebells with the autumn colour and scent of witch hazels and blue autumn crocus.

In the Yellow Meadow, a bright mix of crocus, narcissi and iris will herald spring; the Blue Meadow showcases Japanese maples in yellows, green and reds, underplanted with blue spring bulbs, whilst the delicate charms of the Snowdrop Walk will be a visual delight as clusters of over 12000 double and single snowdrops and 20,000 narcissi bloom amongst the trees.

Damian Harris, Head Gardener at Dunham said:

“The garden contains almost 700 different plant species, whilst 1600 shrubs – which we chose for their winter bark, flower, fruit, autumn colour or scent – were supplied by many of the UK’s leading nurserymen. Some were specifically bred for the Winter Garden. We’ve also planted over 200,000 bulbs with the help of local schoolchildren and visitors, and our garden staff and volunteers have laid 400 metres of new paths.

“The enthusiasm for the Winter Garden has been amazing, and we’d also like to thank Roy Lancaster, OBE for his expert help and guidance throughout the project”.