Preparations



Galanthus 'S. Arnott'

For the past few weeks we have been getting Colesbourne Park ready for the Snowdrop Open days: there is a lot to do. Most gardens have the advantage of a couple more months to get all the winter jobs done before they open to the public in spring - we have to get the garden looking its best by the first weekend of February. For the past couple of years we have been thwarted in this by lengthy periods under snow but a mild and not too wet January has meant that we have got almost everything done for this year, and we're ready to welcome our first visitors of the season on Saturday.

Will Fletcher reinforcing the lakeside path with wood chips.

Rosa 'Rambling Rector' trained on the pergola: a most unsuitable cultivar for this sort of use.

The Spring Garden has been mulched with leafmould - 2009 vintage (a good year, as in Bordeaux)

Despite a bitterly cold wind, the sunshine today was evidently warm enough at ground level for crocuses to open - a C. chrysanthus cultivar.