An update on our gardens from Hand Picked Hotels’ Head of Garden Design, Caroline Scaramanga.
As Spring unfolds, the garden awakens in subtle but striking ways. Beneath the soil bulbs herald the changing season: at Wood Hall and Stanbrook Abbey we have planted large drifts of yellow and white Narcissus mixed with the later flowering tall spires of starry blue flowered Camassia, creating sweeping long-flowering displays over 2 or 3 months. These bulbs not only provide stunning visual impact but also support pollinators as they emerge from winter. This year we plan to extend our bulb planting schemes to many of our other hotels to create that all important welcome to our guests.
While early bulbs push through the soil, winter-flowering shrubs take centre stage, their delicate blooms defying the cold with clever adaptations. Evolved to attract attention in the harshest months their compact blooms resist damage, and their scents travel, to signal nectar sources for the earliest pollinators. The captivating Hamamelis (Witch Hazel) produces spidery, ribbon-like flowers in rich shades of yellow, orange, and red, its slender petals help prevent frost damage by curling up in extreme cold, while their spicy, citrus scent carries on crisp winter air. Sweet Box’s (Sarcococca) understated appearance is compensated by the intoxicating honeyed scent of its small starry white flowers. Rhododendrons, Camellias and Magnolias are in bud, whilst other woodland trees such as the Chilean Myrtle, Amomyrtus luma, are already in flower.
As for herbaceous planting Iris uncuicularis is in flower, as are the hellebores that elegantly fill the gap between winter and spring. Their nodding flowers, in shades from pure white to deep plum, are designed to withstand harsh weather, with waxy petals protecting them from rain and frost. I like to plant them above a retaining wall so that you can see into their flowers although new cultivars are currently being bred to raise their heads. So much to enjoy, so much to look forward to!
