AN EARLY OUTING

Evington Garden Club's first outing of the year was to Cambridge University Botanical Gardens and Anglesey Abbey to see the snowdrops.

The new glasshouses at Cambridge were a must-see for orchid lovers and the new winter gardens gave ideas for imaginative planting for colour with, for example, witch hazel, dogwoods and hellebores.

Anglesey Abbey winter gardens were on a larger scale which allowed the designer free reign. Swathes of grasses, bronze, gold and black swayed in the breeze, dogwoods blazed with orange, red and yellow and then a coppice of pure white birches stood tall – a surprise round every corner.

There was a new woodland trail planted with snowdrops, already a picture even at this early stage. In the dell in the grounds in front of the abbey were the hybridised and rare varieties which had been rediscovered under a Victorian rubbish dump. These were thought to have been planted by pre-Dissolution monks as a symbol of purity. We were warned that these rare ones could cost £22 per plant. There were plenty of other varieties for us keen gardeners.

Meetings are monthly, 3rd Tuesday in the Village Hall.

Margaret Young