Snow flurries to snowdrops

Jan 30 2010 by Tony Henderson, The Journal

VISITORS to one of the North’s loveliest gardens will soon have a spring in their step, says Environment Editor TONY HENDERSON.

FROM snow drifts to drifts of snowdrops. After the Big Freeze, and despite snow flurries yesterday, the emergence of the first blooms of the year will be marked next weekend.

Howick Hall and Gardens, near Craster in Northumberland, will open for its snowdrop walks next Saturday and Sunday.

And there will be another cause for celebration with Howick having just been chosen as Garden of the Year 2009.

The award has come from Gardens Illustrated Magazine and London’s Garden Museum.

Thousands of snowdrops are spread across 15 of the 90 acres of grounds at Howick, many of which were planted in the 1920-30s by Lady Mabel Grey, wife of the 5th Earl Grey.

They are expected to be in bloom for about five weeks.

In recent years Howick staff and a team of 18 garden volunteers have been splitting and moving snowdrops from publicly inaccessible parts of the estate to locations where they can be seen by visitors.

The show includes yellow snowdrops, which are largely confined to an area of north Northumberland between Belford and Wooler.

Markings on the flower which are usually green are instead a bright yellow. The yellow snowdrops occur only once in around every 500 plants in the region.

Last year visitor numbers to Howick Gardens, which surround the 18th Century Howick Hall, increased by 10,000 to 37,000.

Howick head gardener Robert Jamieson said of the award: “It’s always gratifying when garden developments are appreciated and acknowledged.

“The snowdrops herald the start of our official season and if visitors are dressed for cold weather they will be rewarded by a terrific display.”

The grounds are outstanding in spring and feature an arboretum of around 10,500 trees and shrubs covering 1,800 species, many grown from wild seed gathered since 1985 by Charles, Lord Howick, under permit from across the world.

“People ask when the gardens are at their best but there are different attractions in the different seasons. It is a place which has had years to develop as a natural garden,” said Robert.

Award judge and landscape designer Tim Stuart-Smith said: “Howick is a living ark, a gene bank of material from all over the world, planted through 65 acres of grounds surrounding the house, and meticulously documented.

“The setting of the Howick Estate is astoundingly beautiful. When many of our gardening endeavours are instant fixes, this garden is an antidote to the quick gratification of the makeover garden and the tourist honeypot. “

The gardens are mainly the result of 80 years of work by Lady Mabel and the 5th Earl and their daughter Lady Mary.

Features include Lady Mary’s “Botticelli meadow” with long grasses studded with tulips, a bog garden with plants grown from wild seed expeditions, the Silverwood woodland garden and its rhododendrons, azaleas and blue Himalayan meconopsis poppies, and summer borders.

After this weekend Howick will be open Wednesdays to Sundays 10.30am-4pm until April 1.

From April the gardens are open seven days a week from noon to 6pm.

Admission, which includes the arboretum, woodland walks, gardens and tearoom, is £6, and £5 for over 60s; children free. For more information, visit www.howickhallgardens.org