Find out what the propagation and garden teams have been up to this week.
Weekly catch up with garden & propagation
POSTED 8th January 2026
We are back and ready to share what we're up to each week. We hope you enjoy reading!
Propagation Team
Rob's first port of call was to get the extendable broom and knock some of the snow off one of our polytunnels. A series of tiny avalanches reduces the risk of any damage and helps with light levels. It's then back to basics - Rob, Tina, Mel, Kathy and Annie providing the TLC our plants deserve. To begin, we ferry what we'll be working on indoors to defrost. Once this is done (and a considerable sized puddle has formed at the bottom of a Danish trolley) it's a cut back and fresh mulch job for all!
Emily and Matty have been tackling the sempervivum bowls - part of a great collection Beth and Emily have acquired over the years. By extracting the offset rosettes, we can propagate a significant number of new plants which will be available on our nursery in the months ahead. Emily's also been flicking through our seed collection, planning what seeds will be sown first. Tune in next week to find out!
Pete has been braving the Arctic blast, preparing the orders which came in over the festive period. We have a great variety of potted bulbs at this time of year, such as Tulipa saxatilis 'Lilac Wonder' whose growth even the weather couldn't hinder. It's one of the first tulips of the year and can be found growing on the island of Crete. It's known as the candy tulip and is certainly a sweet sight in late winter into the spring.
Tulipa saxatilis 'Lilac Wonder'
Garden Team
We returned after our break to find a glistening carpet of snow spread across the garden. It was -4 degrees the first day and we had a lot of layers on to keep warm!
We started off with a walk around the garden to see if there had been any damage or fallen branches, even the ponds were frozen and covered in snow, with animal footprint trails criss-crossing with our own.
The first job to warm us up was to hard prune a yew in the Gravel Garden that had gotten too big for its space. We reduced it to a framework and removed the ivy to give the new growth more of a chance to sprout. This will also give new shrubs and perennials around this area more light and a chance to get established and provide a lower evergreen layer below the oak.
We are continuing to cut back perennials as bulbs emerge. Snowdrops are appearing and Narcissus ‘Cedric Morris’ in the wood is a sure sign that spring is on the way. We cut back the edge of the woodland using a chop and drop method. This involves cutting the material and leaving to rot down on the bed, giving insects more protection over winter and will break down to feed the soil.
It was great to be back in the garden and planning for the year ahead despite a low of -9 degrees on Tuesday!! We are excited for all the projects and developments ahead and seeing the results of planting done last autumn and more to come in spring.
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