Winter Wonderland at Woottens

 

 

I am a true winter child - I love the scent of the first sharp frost, the falling leaves that leave a pallet of colour across the nursery and of course the winter flowering gems that are slowing nestling onto their place on the nursery.

 

 

Even though we are frantically preparing for the winter there is still time to enjoy the plants of the season. Cyclamen coum, Helleborus, and the most cherished of all Sarcoccoca confusa or 'winter flowering box'.

 

Each morning I leave home and check on the buds on my own Sarcoccoca, having pride of place by the front door, just waiting for them to burst and engulf me with that heavenly scent!

 

Even in the depths of winter, customers that brave the weather to visit us, are struck by the scent of the Sarcoccoca on the nursery.

 

 

However much we feel we are prepared for the winter in our gardens or on the nursery that first frost always catches us out! At home it is important to be preparing your plants for the winter.

All Pelargoniums should have their foliage removed and be brought into a frost free, dry environment. Mine are perched on shelving in my bathroom - where they receive the morning sun, circulation of air throughout the day from an open window and get sparingly watered once a week.

Even though they need to be kept above freezing I don't believe having them in a room with humid central heating, this can only increase the risk of botrytis and make them too accustomed to heat when you need to put them back outside. They'll become like a spoilt child never wanting to fly the nest!

 

Your Auriculas also need to be sheltered over the winter - they don't mind the cold temperatures at all but they do detest the wet. Simply putting them in a covered area away from snow and rain in the winter will be fine.

 

Tonight (after the frost we had last night) I'm heading home to enjoy the year's first White Mulled Wine which includes leaves from my Lemon Verbena. Wonderful!

Now is the time of year when your auriculas should be looking gorgeous.  Some varieties are proudly flowering their socks off while the tiny buds of others are just beginning to swell. Display them for all to see on a cool window sill or  how about an auricula theatre where displayed in clay pots they stand shoulder to shoulder competing for attention.    

You can grow auriculas outside in alpine borders where they are not in competition from larger perennials, or why not grow as I do in ceramic sinks or clay pans topped with grit where they look stunning. The varieties to grow outside are the alpines and my personal favourites the borders, which I feel take on a more frilly, feminine appearance.  While the bolder colours of the alpines  appeal too, offering sturdy stems and strong growth.   Do not shy away however from the stripes, edges and fancies, again these are easy to grow but prefer a cool greenhouse where they  can be protected from rain spoiling their farina (the powdering of the leaf) these plants offer the wow factor and cry out to be adored.

The doubles have a different appeal with colours ranging from the darkest  ruby red to chartreuse lemon, their heads  heavy with flower.  Planting in groups of three, these make an impressive display in a clay pan and will sit happily on a table outside all to enjoy.

For me this is the peak of the year as I open the poly tunnel door and am hit by the sweet scent and perfume of over 400 hundred varieties - it is interesting to see the new varieties as they come into flower there is such a range of flower and type.  

Next week I begin hybridising where I cross pollinate one variety with another - it is an intricate process but not difficult - choosing who to partner with who is always a challenge.  I have had some success with this over the last few years and have produced some wonderful crosses. The trick is timing, choosing just when the flowers are viable - then you wait to see if a seed head is produced and whether within that seed head are any seeds!  The seeds are just like cress seed,  I collect it very carefully to plant out later.  So with a bit of luck I will create something wonderful and a whole new generation of auriculas will be born.  An exciting time!

Sandra Sutton

Auriculas

Galanthus

Having admired Snowdrops from afar I had never had any involvement or experience with them on the nursery or in my own garden. To me they simply symbolised ‘life after Christmas’
The looming grey, dark days of late January early February would be lightened by the appearance of the first snowdrop.
Especially here at Woottens, we have an outstanding display underneath a coppice of hazel trees just as you drive into the nursery, after a bitterly cold cycle to work; it’s a pleasant sight to start the day.

But my knowledge of them was vague and they all seemed very similar, however last week I was designated the task of digging snowdrops for our customers here at Woottens, I hasten to add I was dubious to begin with.

However after 3hours of kneeling in freezing conditions with the wind burning my ears and receiving some serious ridicule from the Iris diggers on the nursery, my doubts were lifted and I was smitten. (The afternoon tea of the day helped)

After indulging myself in some research I realised just how ‘fashionable’ snowdrops are in the plant world. A true snowdrop enthusiast is known as a Galanthophile, documentation began of Galanthus in the 16th Century, Galanthus nivalis and plicatus were the main subject of discussion. I was surprised to discover they are not native to Britain but originate in Southern and Central Europe.

Although I have to admit within a few days I had become fussy in my choice of snowdrop. I cannot see the attraction this year with the yellow tipped snowdrops, to me the snowdrop has to be the crisp green against the white, the gold/yellow tint appears slightly ill, as though the flower is loosing life.

Amongst the hundreds of cultivars circling Galanthus collectors there are some beastly looking doubles, flirtatious hybrids where the petals flick outwards like a 1950’s ladies dress; and still my favourite the delicate single snowdrop, glancing up at you through its petals like a nervous lopped ear rabbit.

Whatever your opinion of the Snowdrop, I do not know of a single person that does not smile at the sight of the first snowdrop of the year.

A future Galanthophile……………………………………………………………