THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN

The garden is open in January, February and March (weekends only). Visit to see the stark beauty of Waddesdon in winter and experience the waking of the first spring flowers, the snowdrops and winter aconites. The Gardens Department have been creating a winter interest area in the gardens this can be found on the way to Tay Bridge, colourful stems and winter flowering shrubs under planted with early spring bulbs.

March
The garden is now beginning to wake up from its winter slumber. Scillas will be flowering and colour will be creeping into the spring bedding displays and the early daffodils will be showing colour. The new display of winter interest plants will still be looking good.

April
The spring bedding is in full colour. The Parterre will be a striking mixture of blue and orange pansies. The Avenue and Tropical Mound beds are a mass of tulips. Each bed with its own colour theme, purple and pink, red and orange, pastel colours, white and cream. Polyanthus, primroses and wallflowers are in profusion in the rest of the garden and the daffodils of Daffodil Valley, tay Bridge and the Tulip Patch will be in full flower.

May
Spring flowering shrubs are looking good particularly Cascade Bank. May is bedding change over time with lots of work going on in the garden. The bluebells and Lily-of-the-Valley are in full flower and the trees throughout the gardens are looking magnificent in their new coats of fresh spring leaves.

June
The theme for this summer's carpet bedding is buttons and there will be a display of buttons in the house. The Gardens Department will be creating some of these buttons in the carpet bed on the Parterre. The Parterre will be planted out with several varieties of begonias in pink shades. Tropical Mound and the exotic planting round the Bachelors' Wing will be starting to fill out and the Aviary will be looking splendid. This year we will be using rudbeckia and Heliotrope. The Rose Garden will be in full flower and full of heady scents. Check out the trial bed beyond the Rose Garden for a sneak preview of what we may be using in our bedding schemes in the future.

July and August
The bedding will be at its best during these months. The water plants at Frog Fountain Steps will be looking good.

September
Late September and the conkers are beginning to fall. The bedding is still looking good, particularly the exotic plants on Tropical Mound and House front beds. The tree ferns on Long Rocky will conjure up thoughts of prehistoric times as you walk below their arching fronds. Autumn crocus, Colchicum speciosum 'Album', will be in flower below the Parterre.

October
Change of the season again - out go the summer plants to make way for the spring flowering plants. Autumn colour is the great attraction for October.

November/December
The garden goes to sleep for the winter. There are still interesting things to see. Visit the new Winter Garden areas on the way to Tay Bridge. The variegated hollies and other evergreen shrubs show well and give depth to the garden.