April 24, 2015 by bodnantgarden

Spring is blossoming at Bodnant Garden

We’re basking in an amazing April here at Bodnant Garden. We’ve enjoyed a week of brilliant sunshine and blue skies which has coaxed out many wonderful plants. From the vivid tulips on the Range border which seemed to burst open, their petals wide to the warmth, to the delicious aroma of Osmanthus filling the air…the birds singing, bees buzzing… the gentle hum of the mower and smell of cut grass…it feels that summer is just around the corner.

But take a moment and enjoy this lovely unfolding of spring sights, sounds and scents. Here’s a sample of some of the things to enjoy this weekend if you’re visiting, starting with the colourful herbaceous perennials and bulbs to the scented and flowering and trees shrubs:

Electric blue Pulmonaria ‘Lewis Palmer’ and Epimedium pubigernum

Erythronium ‘Pagoda’ and Bergenia cordifolia, and below, more Erythronium, this time the pink flowered ‘Revolutum’

From the sublime Anemone nemerosa to… Lysichiton americanus!

Eye-catching colours…Tulips in the parterre and, below, Omphalodes cappadocica ‘Cherry Ingram’ and Euphorbia polychroma

Flowering shrubs are really romping away right now. Our magnolias have been in flower for a month and are still going – some later forms will still be flowering in May and June. Rhododendrons have also been blooming since early spring but are now gearing up for the big show in May, building up layers upon layers of dazzling colour around the garden. And then there are the flowering cherries, which have just started to open and promise a bounty of blossom over the next few weeks.

Magnolia stellata and, below, Magnolia ‘Heaven Scent’

Large blousey blooms of Rhododendron ‘Janet’

Rhododendron ‘Redwing’ and Rh ‘Bluestone’ both Bodnant Hybrids

Fothergilla major and, below, Forsythia x intermedia

Prunus Kanzan and, below, Pieris ‘Flaming Silver’

Scented Exochorda macrantha ‘The Bride’ and, below, the beautiful foliage of Sorbaria sorbifolia ‘Sem’

This Osmanthus delayvii, seen here on the Tennis Lawn, is just one of the glorious plants to be enjoyed around the garden right now – and there’s much more to follow in the coming weeks – scented viburnums, blossoming clematis and wisteria…and don’t forget the Laburnum Arch, which is on schedule to flower at the end of May and is a spectacle, once seen, we promise you will never forget.

For more details about Bodnant Garden call 01492 650460, check out our website www.nationaltrust.org.uk/bodnant-garden or Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/BodnantGardenNT

March 20, 2015 by bodnantgarden

Final push for The Far End

With just over a week to go until the opening of The Far End it’s all hands to the pump. We had a big blitz day this week when gardeners, volunteers and office staff got together for a final push – mulching, gravelling and turfing the ten acres. Everyone was rewarded by luscious lemon cake at tea break and pizza at lunch time, provided by our very own Pietro from the Pavilion tearoom, enjoyed around the brazier in The Dell. There were even chocolatey prizes for the best team efforts.

Grass seed sowing (left) and gardeners Nathan and Fiona

Volunteers Joy and Karen

Property administrator Rose mucking in, left

Gravelling the new bridge path

Pulling his weight, new head gardener John, right

The massive Williams bed mid and after mulching

Gravelling before and after

Nathan and Dell supervisor Maxine, left

Gardener Paul and property manager William enjoy a paned

Looking tranquil in March sunshine, The Far End

It’s taken many years of renovation to get to this point, so don’t miss our big opening day, on Saturday, March 28.

Garden manager Michael McLaren from Bodnant’s donor family will be here to welcome visitors and the horticulturalist and broadcaster Christine Walkden will perform the official opening at 12 noon with a ribbon cutting on the new bridge.

We’ve got harp music at 11am and 1pm in the boathouse, Morris Dancing and coracle making through the day plus guided walks during the afternoon. There’s also a new refreshment kiosk serving hot and cold snacks, plus seating and toilet facilities, and special mini-buses will be running to take people from the garden’s main car park to the Far End during Saturday and Sunday of the opening weekend.

Residents of our neighbouring village of Eglwysbach are being invited to the garden free for the opening day – free entry tickets are available from the village shop.

It is the first time in Bodnant Garden’s 140-year history that The Far End has been open to the public so join us for a historic day!

For more details about Bodnant Garden call 01492 650460, check out our website www.nationaltrust.org.uk/bodnant-garden or Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/BodnantGardenNT

March 13, 2015 by bodnantgarden

Spring is in the air…and in the garden

Spring is definitely in the air; mornings and evenings are lighter, birds are singing, snowdrops are giving way to daffodils and even the odd tulip; the first magnolia has burst it’s buds – the grand old Magnolia campbellii on the Croquet Terrace – and gardeners were even spotted wearing t-shirts during one fine, sunny day this week.

Here’s a look at some of the colourful sights and scents to be enjoyed around the garden right now:

Rhododendron racemosum, Helleborus x hybridus ‘Pink Spotted Lady’

Daphne bholua, Narcissus ‘Peeping Tom’, Iris reticulata ‘Alida’

Rhododendron ‘Portia’, Helleborus x hybridus (white)

Helleborus x hybridus ‘Ashwood Strain’ and Euphorbia characias

Magnolia campbellii and Tulipa ‘Show Winner’

Narcissus cyclamineus and Pulmonaria ‘Lewis Palmer’

Cyclamen coum and Eranthis hyemanis ‘Guinea Gold’

Scilla mischtschenkoana and Rhododendron ‘Ostara’

Pastel splashes of Rhododendron praecox all around the garden

For more details about Bodnant Garden call 01492 650460, check out our website www.nationaltrust.org.uk/bodnant-garden or Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/BodnantGardenNT

March 6, 2015 by bodnantgarden

The Far End – it’s getting closer!

On March 28, after years of renovation work, we’re opening up a new area to the public and it’s all hands to the pump right now as we make the final push before opening day.

The Far End is ten acres of tranquil riverside. Some of you might have seen it in our Secret Bodnant walks last year exploring private areas of the garden, but until now most visitors have not been able to walk further than the famous Waterfall Bridge in The Dell. Soon everyone can explore what lies beyond…waterside walks, a Skating Pond, boathouse and arboretum.

Horticulturalist and broadcaster Christine Walkden will perform the official opening at a special day of celebration on Saturday, March 28. That day we’ll also have harp music in the boat house, demonstrations of coracle making on the lakeside, country dancing, guided walks, a nature trail for children and refreshments.

Then and now, the Skating Pond in the Far End

The Far End is quite different in character to other parts of the garden – unlike the formal Italianate Terraces or the dramatic Dell with its rushing river and waterfall – here the paths lead visitors to a small lake which is quiet, peaceful and full of wildlife.

The smaller Otter Pond

It is one of the oldest parts of the garden, originally laid out by Bodnant’s creator Henry Pochin from the 1870s who envisaged it as The Wild Garden in the style of Victorian garden designer William Robinson. Pochin began by creating paths along the riverside and planting conifers, some of which are now Champion Trees. Pochin’s daughter Laura and grandson Henry McLaren laid out the large Skating Pond and Boat House and continued planting trees and shrubs from all around the world.

The original thatched Boat House, which has now been restored

The area was never opened to the public but over the last few years gardeners have been renovating banks, beds and paths, creating a new circular walkway and bridge which will give visitors an easy access, level route around this beautiful part of the garden. The work hasn’t been without setbacks. In November 2011 flooding devastated the area, washing away new plantings, damaging paths and leaving a trail of debris…but the next day garden supervisor Maxine Singleton and her team were clearing up and starting again.

Supervisor Maxine with gardeners Steve and Fiona

Steve and Alex doing some aquatic gardening

Now, three years on, the Far End has been rejuvinated and is ready to open, though renovation and replanting work will be ongoing. Christine Walkden, a horticulturalist well known for her TV and radio work – and friend and fan of Bodnant Garden – will cut a ribbon officially opening the area at 12 noon. It’s a historic event for Bodnant so be among the first to see this secret garden unveiled!

Christine Walkden with staff and volunteers at the garden last year

For more details about Bodnant Garden call 01492 650460, check out our website www.nationaltrust.org.uk/bodnant-garden or Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/BodnantGardenNT

February 6, 2015 by bodnantgarden

Plant a snowdrop for posterity

Our Old Park meadow is carpeted with snowdrops right now and with a little help from visitors there will soon be 15,000 more. From February 14 to 22 we’re inviting people to join gardeners and volunteers in a mass planting for posterity.

The Old Park is a rolling open meadow landscaped with native oak and beech trees, thought to be the oldest part of the original garden dating back to the Georgian era. Only opened to the public in 2013, it is now being managed as a wildlife meadow – the display of snowdrops are followed by swathes of daffodils in the spring and wildflowers in the summer.

Gardeners and volunteers have been planting snowdrops in the meadow for the last five years to ensure a bigger and better display in future.

This time of year it is traditional to plant snowdrops ‘in the green’ (at the end of flowering but when the leaves are still green). Visitors can drop by through the week and lend a hand at any time from 11am to 1pm. All plants and tools are provided, just bring are sturdy clothes and footwear.

All are welcome to drop by and join in with the planting, whether for five minutes or an hour – the more the merrier! It’s also a chance to have a look around our Winter Garden, now in its third year and positively blooming. In fact the whole garden is showing signs of spring and it’s a wonderful time to visit.

There are also events for families in the garden during half term, with a craft workshop in The Old Mill on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, February 16-18, 11am to 1pm. Don’t forget you can bring dogs too on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays until the end of February.

No booking is required and there is no extra charge for the snowdrop planting or craft workshop (normal garden admission prices apply), but for information contact Bodnant Garden on 01492 650460.

For more details about Bodnant Garden call 01492 650460, check out our website www.nationaltrust.org.uk/bodnant-garden or Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/BodnantGardenNT

April 27, 2014 by bodnantgarden

Alpine gardening – The new rock ‘n’ roll

It’s official – Bodnant Garden rocks! A TV crew from BBC Gardener’s World visited us recently to film our alpine beds. The programme is following a couple developing their own garden and brought them to Bodnant for inspiration. The show will be aired later in the year (and don’t worry we’ll keep you updated). Area supervisor Bill Warrell took part in the filming, helped by gardener Gemma Hayes, who has developed the rock garden on the Top Rose Terrace.

Bill Warrell being filmed for BBC Gardener’s World

Designed and developed by Gemma, the Alpine Garden has been around three years in the making and it’s really coming into its own this year. The display of beautiful gentians and iris this spring has drawn many an appreciative gasp from visitors. It’s come a long way from an area of waste ground, as you can see:

The Alpine Garden in March 2012 (left) and gardeners Gemma and Mark extending the plot in March 2013

Here are some of the sights in the Alpine Garden right now:

Gentiana acaulis and Iris ‘Little Shadow’

Phlox subulata ‘Scarlet Flame’, Arenaria grandiflora and Pulsatilla turczaninovii

Rhododendron burmanicum, Antirrhinum sempervirens and Iris ‘Cherry Garden’

Daphne cneorum and Paeonia cambessedessii

Phlox bifida ‘Ralph Haywood’ and Pulsatilla haleri subsp.slavicahaleri

The dry Alpine Garden is a lovely new addition to Bodnant. Basking in sun on the formal Italianate terraces of the garden, it is very different to the damp, shady, wilder world of The Rockery in The Dell – which also caught the eyes of the Gardener’s World team. They spent some time there filming the plants which tumble down the valley side alongside a cascading stream. The Rockery was also recently filmed for a BBC Chelsea Flower Show special – when garden designer Mathew Childs visited Bodnant in search of ideas for his show garden. That programme will be aired in May.

We’re looking forward to seeing both our very different rock gardens on screen. It’s good to know they have inspired others…come and visit, maybe they will inspire you too.

The Alpine Garden and The Rockery

For more details about Bodnant Garden call 01492 650460, check out our website www.nationaltrust.org.uk/bodnant-garden or Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/BodnantGardenNT

April 7, 2014 by bodnantgarden

Celebrate Easter at Bodnant Garden

Spring has come early – the daffodils are out, the blossom is bursting and we’re looking forward to an egg-stra special Easter at Bodnant Garden (sorry).

After a mild winter we’re enjoying a dazzling spring floral display and preparing to welcome visitors with a host of holiday activities – including popular Easter egg hunts for children.

It’s a bit different to this time last year, when North Wales was under a deluge of late snow after suffering a long, cold, wet winter. Our neighbours at National Trust Chirk and Erddig had to draft in sledges for their Easter egg hunts! This time round we’ve had a mild winter and the garden has exploded with spring colour. The show of camellias, magnolias, cherry blossom, our famous rhododendrons and swathes of daffodils is stunning.

Of course it’s not quite Easter yet, but so far so good and we’ve got a fun-packed programme of events to offer visitors…so fingers crossed for the weather.

There is a full programme of activities for families during the two-week Easter holiday period. We’re also launching a month-long Rhododendron Festival, which offers walks, talks and workshops for adults celebrating the garden’s famous plant collection.

Whether hunting for plants, bugs or chocolate eggs, families can enjoy Easter trails at Bodnant Garden

Easter events at Bodnant Garden:

Sat 12 – Sun 27 April (every day from 10am-4pm): Plant It, Grow It, Eat It – Visitors can drop in and plant a pumpkin seed in a pot to take home and grow on. No extra charge. No Booking Required.

Tuesday 15 and 22 April: Pond Dipping (12-3pm): Families can have a go at ‘dipping’ in the Lily Pond using nets and jars to examine water wildlife (before returning it safely!) No extra charge. No Booking Required.

Sun 20 and Mon 21 April (10am – 4pm): Cadbury’s Easter Egg Trail – Children do an ‘eggsplorer’ trail around the garden, collecting stamps in their passport to bag a chocolate egg. Cost £2 per child. No Booking Required. There will also be facepainting in the Cadbury gazebo and an Easter Bonnet Competition with judging and prize giving at 3pm on the Monday.

Thurs 17 April: Launch of Rhododendron Festival with a walk and talk from our expert taxonomist on A History of Bodnant Rhododendron Hybrids, 2-3pm. No Extra Charge. No Booking Required.

Thursday 24 April: Photographing Rhododendrons – a workshop delivered by award-winning local photographer Pierino Algieri as part of our ‘I Love Bodnant Garden’ photography competition. Booking required for time slots 10am-12pm and 2-4pm. No Extra Charge

Friday 25 April: Bat Walk – Discover the bats of Bodnant with expert Cathy Wuster of Gwynedd Bat Group, 8-10pm. Booking Required. No Extra Charge.

Saturdays April 12, 19 and 26: Story telling in the Pin Mill every Saturday at 2.30pm. No extra charge. No Booking Required.

Easter events, including the Cadbury’s Easter Egg Trail, will be going on at National Trust properties across Wales. For full details contact Bodnant Garden on 01492 650460, visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/bodnant-garden or the NT Wales website at www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/local-to-you/wales

March 16, 2014 by bodnantgarden

Magnificent magnolias

This week the first magnolias burst forth, coaxed out by a few days of glorious sunshine. One of the earliest to make an entrance has been the grand old Magnolia campbellii on the Lily Terrace, whose gorgeous fat, pink blooms have stopped visitors in their tracks and set cameras clicking. It heralds the start of many months of magnolias here at Bodnant Garden. In fact the latest, Magnolia grandiflora with its huge, saucer-like ivory flowers, blossoms in autumn.

Bodnant Garden has a National Collection of magnolias which go back a long way. Many of them are 100 years old or more, such as the grand Magnolia veitchii x ‘Peter Veitch’ which towers over the Laburnum Arch and is a landmark for visitors approaching the garden.

That magnificent magnoliamon the Lily Terrace. The long, cold winter knocked it back last year but it’s making up for it now!

During the early 1900s the garden’s owner, the second Lord Aberconway Henry McLaren, was an avid plantsman who later became president of the Royal Horticultural Society. He sponsored expeditions by plant hunters to bring back seeds and plants from Asia and South America – not just magnolias but rhododendrons, embothrium and eucryphia, of which we also now have National Collections.

The Magnolia campbellii mollicomata (to give it its full name) on the Lily Terrace was brought here by plant hunter George Forrest. When ‘exotic’ new plants arrived in Britain, nobody knew for sure how hardy they would be, so to protect them they were often planted against walls. It turned out that many were pretty hardy and the magnolia now has its head well above the top of the wall. When the famous Veitch nurseries closed in the early 1900s Lord Aberconway bought all the remaining stock – and commissioned a whole train to deliver all the plants to Bodnant Garden! Now that’s what you call leaves on the line.

Some of the Chinese magnolias you can see at Bodnant garden include some of the species seen here…there are many more cultivars to be enjoyed too:

Left: Magnolia dawsoniana – A deciduous tree, discovered in 1869 by Père Armand and introduced to Britain by Ernest Wilson.

Right: Magnolia delavayi – An evergreen magnolia, named after missionary Father Delavay who discovered it.

LEFT: Magnolia denudata – The official flower of Shanghai, a small, deciduous magnolia grown in Buddhist temple gardens since 600 AD.

RIGHT: Magnolia sargentiana – Another deciduous magnolia, this large type is fairly uncommon in cultivation and threatened by habitat loss.

LEFT: Magnolia sprengeri – A small deciduous magnolia.

RIGHT: Magnolia globosa – The Globe Magnolia is deciduous and closely related to M. wilsonii and M. sieboldii, but is rare in cultivation.

LEFT: Magnolia stellata – Sometimes called the star magnolia, this slow-growing shrub is native to Japan.

RIGHT: Couldn’t resist…that Magnolia campbellii again!

Come and see the magnolias at Bodnant Garden over the next couple of months when they’re at their finest. It’s a sight not to be missed.

For more details about Bodnant Garden call 01492 650460, check out our website www.nationaltrust.org.uk/bodnant-garden or Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/BodnantGardenNT

March 15, 2013 by bodnantgarden

Welcome to spring in the Shrub Borders

Area supervisor Bill Warrell looks forward to the blossoming season ahead…

Berberis darwinii

The garden is now slowly re-awakening after its winter slumber. Whilst some brave rhododendrons have been flowering handsomely over the last couple of months, my favourite being R. mucronulatum with its delicate pink flowers held on bare branches, spring is now burgeoning. Snowdrops and crocus, delicate harbingers of the new season, are soon to be joined by swathes of daffodils, their bold foliage already a bright riposte to the vestiges of winter.

Viburnum plicatum

Colour slowly permeates the garden; the bold red of Rhododendron Portia Group, pale, subtle pieris and the lungwort’s mellow blue. The coming weeks will witness an ever-widening palette, as first magnolias then viburnums burst into bloom. I love the magnolias, not only for their unparalleled beauty of flower, but also for their evanescence – a single frost and their fleshy blooms burn and wither to brown. A glorious reminder to savour a garden’s fleeting pleasures.

Rhododendron mucronulatum

It is in spring that I am particularly reminded of the horticultural genius of the McClarens and their Head Gardeners, the Puddles. There is a near seamless succession of blooms on the Borders. Following the tiered beauty of many Viburnum plicatum cultivars, marvellous cascades of white blossom, the oriental tree dogwoods, Cornus kousa, bear their creamy bracts. To conclude this pallid profusion in late spring, the stewartias, S. sinensis and S. pseudocamellia Koreana Group are adorned with their camellia-shaped flowers, embellishing their prized ornamental bark.

Cornus kousa

All the while, bolder shades erupt all around, as Bodnant-hybrid rhododendrons jostle with the vibrant orange of Berberis darwinii and countless camellias. As the garden springs into life, so the pace of work quickens for the gardening team. Having scoured the borders for weeds, pruned roses and hydrangeas, we are now busy mulching with our own compost. It’s perhaps a little early, given the cold snap we’ve experienced recently (it’s always better to mulch a warm, moist soil), but this is our window of opportunity as the grass glades have dried out a little, so tractor damage will be reduced. Last year, we spread around sixty one-tonne trailer loads. I find mulching deeply satisfying: not only are we nourishing the plants, we are protecting the soil, feeding the myriad creatures that dwell in its midst, reducing annual weeds (therefore toil) and providing a dark backdrop which serves to beautifully amplify colour, shape and texture.

All our autumnal endeavours gathering mound-upon-mound of beautifully tinted leaves come to fruition (with the occasional help of a 3.5 tonne digger to turn the heaps). I love the cyclical nature of the process and celebrate Nature’s marvellous ingenuity – barrowloads of free fertility! But of course, we never have enough…