The mild winter has seen Mottisfont’s snowdrop displays burst into bloom earlier than usual.
16,000 bulbs of this much-loved flower have been planted in recent years, and the snowy clusters can now be enjoyed near the start of Mottisfont’s river walk, where a winding woodchip path allows visitors maximum pleasure of this beautiful winter scene.
“We planted native species Galanthus nivalis, which self-seed and colonise, so every year they spread a little further, which is delightful,” says Mottisfont’s head gardener Jonny Norton. “You’ll also spot them by the font stream, and in our fabulous Winter Garden.”
Snowdrops are just one of the uplifting winter delights at Mottisfont feeling the benefit of these mild temperatures. Over the past five years the one acre Winter Garden has matured into a beautiful and unique landscape. There’s brilliantly coloured dogwood bark and silvery ornamental bramble, winter berries, snowdrops, and other late- and early-flowering perennials which provide colour during the shortest days of the year. Gullies of foliage plants appear to wind through banks of willow like water, and hellebores, mahonia, wintersweet, witch hazel, viburnum, winter honeysuckle and daphne are already in bloom.
Photo © National Trust
