The Bridgemere Gardening Blog

Grasses in winter

Deciduous grasses – the ones which turn parchment-coloured but remain standing – are a significant feature of many gardens in winter. The pampas grasses have been around the longest and still tend to be the most dominant, by virtue of their size alone. Even when they have lost their initial creamy-whiteness, as long as their plumes remain upright they continue to add interest to the scene. The beginning of this winter though, was too much for all but a few of them, leaving them, as soon as the snow and ice retreated, a pile of broken stems, which is exactly as they have remained ever since in gardens all over the country. I find myself longing to say, please everyone, it won’t take a minute to clear away! – the more onerous task of dealing with the leaves can be left until spring.

Molinias, Miscanthus and Panicums are all beautiful in winter, especially when rimed with frost or back lit by the winter sun. Molinias look lovely up to the end of December, when they promptly collapse, as if at a signal. Nothing could be easier than tidying them away. The Miscanthus, elegant and upright, and Panicums, graceful and fountain-like, carry on looking wonderful for much longer. They were not in the least affected by the severity of the early part of the winter, even the flowers of the Miscanthus remaining in tact, though gossamer fine by now. It would seem a pity, in a spirit of tidiness, to cut these down quite yet. This is a job though, which must be done by the end of March, to avoid the new shoots growing up among last year’s old stems.

Turning the corner?

This may be a trick being played upon us by the weather – never trust our climate! – but the feeling in the air is that there is not going to be a repeat of the drama and extremes of December. We have at least got through January, which was moderate throughout – pretty much what we have been used to in recent years.

There are, nevertheless, plenty of signs remaining of the devastation wrought during those final weeks of the year. Many of us will have lost cherished plants which have survived the past decade or more unscathed. Ceanothus and Cordylines, for example, are likely victims when temperatures dip well below the norm; and even some which got through last winter may have succumbed to this one. However, don’t abandon hope for at least another month. It is surprising how many very dead looking plants can spring up again from the base. Hardy Fuchsias do this every year, after all; and you can’t give up on them until the middle of May at the earliest. And if some things do turn out truly to have given up the ghost, we must be philosophical – new gaps create fresh opportunities!

Some of the plants we rely upon to provide us with flowers through the winter months were stopped in their tracks by those relentless frosts. The scented pink flowers of Viburnum x bodnantense varieties, for example, were thoroughly browned and shrivelled. But these plants don’t give up easily and with buds in reserve to keep them going through to spring, they are back to flowering fit to bust again. The shrubby honeysuckle, Lonicera ‘Winter Beauty’, with its tiny, deliciously scented cream flowers, missed the early frosts all together and has been merrily flowering since the beginning of the year.

Of all the plants which are rash enough to flower during our winter, Witch Hazels have the most frost-hardy flowers. However shrivelled they may appear to be in the morning after a hard night’s frost, they will unfurl as good as new with the slightest hint of warmth in the air. They are putting on as good a show as ever. Meanwhile, snowdrops and aconites, which have seemed hesitant up to now, are suddenly opening all around us; even primroses are peeping out from their greenery and, another sure sign that spring is edging closer, catkins are beginning to burst open on willows and alders.