Adrian Bloom has for many years been in the forefront of gardening for year-round colour, writing a book in 1993 called Winter Garden Glory (alas, no longer in print), and creating the highly praised Winter Garden at Bressingham in 2004, now featured in books and articles. This was many years after his own garden Foggy Bottom was created, also stunning in winter… Now you can get a preview of some of the highlights of the Winter Garden and Foggy Bottom, joining Adrian in a video presentation, created by Richard Crafter (cameraman, sound recordist and director!) last winter.
Special Winter Opening: 16th February until 27th March. (Main open season begins on 1st April 2017.) See details here.
Image: River of Imperata cylindrica ‘Rubra’ in Foggy Bottom, October
New England is renowned for vibrant ‘fall’ colour – England much less so.
But over many years planting at the Bressingham Gardens has concentrated on filling each season with change, colour, and occasionally drama. So now, as a garden of 17 acres, Bressingham Gardens – and in particular Adrian’s Wood and Foggy Bottom – can boast some of the best and most diverse colour of any British garden. Only a few weeks left to visit!
Note – The Bressingham Gardens and Steam Museum officially close at the end of October 2016 – but see Winter Garden openings.
Cornus sanguinea ‘Midwinter Fire’ with Aster ‘Veilchen Konigin’ in the Winter Garden
Rhus typhina ‘Radiance’ in Adrian’s Wood
Vitus coignitiae in the Fragrant Garden
Imperata cylindrica ‘Rubra’ with Pennisetum villosum in Foggy Bottom
Image: Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’ planted with Kniphofia ‘Tawny King’
We will be discussing new plants much more on our website, but the adage that ‘new is not necessarily better’ is certainly borne out by one of Adrian Bloom’s Best selections, Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’; discovered in the 1700s, yet only now becoming known and appreciated for the great garden plant it is.
Stephen Anderton, garden writer who has been to Bressingham Gardens many times, wrote an article in the Times on the 12th August –
‘Hydrangeas are this season’s must have…’
‘…and your garden needs an Annabelle’.
Thanks Stephen – the only thing we would slightly disagree with is that at Bressingham we treat Annabelle like a perennial and in late March, just as shoots start to show, we cut all old wood to the ground.
Time was when gardeners did more than 50% of planting in the autumn – but that was before the container-grown revolution which started in, where else, but California in the late 1950s. It’s a long story, but once the garden centres and nurseries began to sell plants in pots and containers, they could sell – and gardeners could buy and plant – in generally better spring and early summer weather. Why wouldn’t they? But strong container-grown plants, particularly on lighter and well-drained soils, are still fine to plant in our generally milder autumns.
We plant spring-flowering bulbs in autumn – the best time, and it’s also a good time to plant robust shrubs, conifers and many perennials too.
Adrian Bloom’s Best
In our 17 acres of gardens we have years of experience of growing and assessing plants. Not just perennials and grasses, but shrubs and trees too – particularly in Foggy Bottom, Adrian Bloom’s garden. From Adrian’s more than 50 years of experience, he has selected certain reliable and garden-worthy plants, and we have tagged these as Adrian Bloom’s Best – plants you can rely on.
Why not recreate this stunning combination in your garden for 2017?
Three of Adrian Bloom’s favourite plants make a great and striking combination in a new planting which attracted a lot of attention from visitors to the Bressingham Gardens in 2016.
Picea stichensis ‘Papoose’ is an attractive, slow-growing dwarf conifer with a beautifully rounded form and blue and green needles which age to a silvery blue on one side and green on the other. Seen here with Spiraea japonica ‘Golden Carpet’, it’s dramatic colouring makes it is an excellent cultivar for a dwarf conifer collection or to accompany perennial plantings.
The stunning planting and all-year-round colour at Bressingham attracts many complimentary comments from the visitors who come to wander around and take inspiration and pleasure from the gardens. With six distinct gardens and more than 8,000 different plant varieties, The Bressingham Gardens are also a source of interest to gardening writers and members of the Press – and we are pleased that it is regularly featured in gardening magazines and other publications.
Here are just a few examples of recent articles:-
The Garden – October 2013
This highly-regarded monthly gardening magazine published by the Royal Horticultural Society featured The Bressingham Gardens across six pages of its October 2013 issue and said:
“Some of our greatest gardens are so regarded because they are closely associated with pioneering ways of planting that have inspired thousands of gardeners and influenced the kind of plants we buy. But there can be few that have shaped the ethos of UK gardeners to the same degree as The Bressingham Gardens in Norfolk.”
The article was written by RHS The Garden Magazine’s features editor Phil Clayton who visited Bressingham in September 2012 along with photographer Neil Hepworth. Phil is a well-respected journalist and gardener, so we at Bressingham Gardens were delighted with his balanced article giving historical perspective and recent changes and developments at Bressingham which are ongoing. We continue to welcome all visitors at Bressingham to see our dramatic and changing gardens.
Phil Clayton writes: “The Bressingham Gardens are too often overlooked, even by those who should know better; I would argue their pioneering yet inclusive spirit, inspiring generations of gardeners, places them towards the top of the pile. Even if you think you know what Bressingham has to offer, pay a visit and be prepared to be inspired.”
(First published in October 2013 issue of The Garden Magazine of the Royal Horticulture Society; www.rhs.org.uk/thegarden).
Let’s Talk Magazine – November 2013
Co-editor of the East Anglian magazine, Terry Redhead toured The Bressingham Gardens in late autumn 2013 and met with Adrian Bloom. He described his visit as “a great experience” and advised others to “remember to take all your senses for maximum effect . . . as well as your imagination.”
He writes: “It would be facile to try to describe the colours, smells and atmosphere of the gardens. You have to be there to enjoy them to your own satisfaction.”
East Anglian Daily Times Suffolk Magazine – October 2013
Gardening features writer and horticulturist Lucy Redman was thrilled to visit The Bressingham Gardens having met Alan Bloom when she was a youngster. “I had the honour to meet Alan as a teenager many moons ago and somewhere have a classic photo with him on one of his trains,” she said. Having returned to the gardens in autumn 2013 to meet Adrian, she said: “I really was impressed with the garden and honoured to have a private tour with such an inspirational plantsman.”
She writes: “The garden is a joy to behold. If you haven’t been to Bressingham recently, do return to enjoy the exciting new plant combinations and be dazzled with a huge array of shape, form and colours – a real treat!”
The English Garden magazine
The Bressingham Gardens were featured in The English Garden in December 2013 with a full feature inside and a front cover image of the Winter Garden.