Designing and Creating a Winter Garden

with Sally Gregson

Date: 3rd August 2023
Times: 10am - 4pm

Designing and Creating a Winter Garden

Winter is a very special season. It’s the time for strong structural lines, splashes of vibrant colour, and the intricate patterning of frost and snow. The cold of deep winter is essential to many of our native plants: they need the cold to initiate their flowers, mature their coloured foliage; and distribute their berries and seeds.For the garden designer the winter months provide the perfect time to assess a site and plan a layout, with plenty of time to consider the plans before creating the garden.

This day-course is intended to identify the different aspects of designing a garden focussing on winter. The late, great Christopher Lloyd, among so many others, extolled the virtues of strong structural planting that would look good in December and January, and like a beautiful super-model, the ‘bone-structure’ would be there to dress for the rest of the year. Join us to learn how to create a strong planting design, selecting the correct plants for the existing conditions, and choosing the right winter performers.

We will cover preparation and maintenance, and focus on some beautiful winter performing plants.

The day course will be well illustrated with slides and we will have a short walk around the beautiful Bristol Botanic Gardens.

Target audience: Anyone who wants to learn to how to design a winter garden and would like ask Sally questions about plants and planting.

Programme: Arrive in time for a 10am start
Items to bring: Notepaper, pencil, laptop and packed lunch. Alternatively there is a cafe onsite. Tea and coffee is available from the cafe (open from 11am) and there is a vending machine in the study room.