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❤ Celebrate
Romance
Create a little
Tactile seedheads, heady scent and delicate blooms – there’s no
place more romantic than a winter garden, says Louise Curley
The notion of a romantic garden
conjures up images of voluptuous
roses and exuberant herbaceous
borders at their summer peak,
with plants spilling out onto paths. But
there’s no reason why a garden can’t have a
similar ‘visual poetry’ in winter.
Wintry weather provides the perfect
atmospheric canvas. Misty mornings
dampen sound, creating a serene stillness,
and frozen raindrops dangle from
colourful berries. Weak winter
sun highlights the
intricate silhouette of
contorted hazel stems
and a dusting of frost
draws attention to the
sculptural qualities of seedheads.
Winter sharpens the senses and with
the garden stripped back to its bare
bones, tiny details come to the fore. Shots
of red and orange from remaining rose hips
stand out strikingly against leafless stems.
Whatever the season, a romantic garden
needs bewitching blooms in a colour
palette of soft pastels and muted tones. In
winter look to winter-flowering trees such
as Prunus subhirtella ‘Autumnalis’, with its
exquisite dainty white blossom, shrubs
such as viburnums and woodland bulbs to
add colour and fragrance.
The graceful silhouettes of
deciduous trees and shrubs
and skeletal structures of
seedheads and grasses add a
delicate, transient beauty. ➤
LEFT Frosted seedheads
ABOVE Fragrant hamamelis
RIGHT The unfurling blooms of
Prunus subhirtella ‘Autumnalis’
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