December Garden Update

I find it hard not to fixate on the quality of the light at the best of times, but particularly so as we tip towards the solstice. There is so little in the way of daylight at this time that you have to savour every drop, and we have been blessed with some crystalline mornings. I am fortunate in that I drive directly eastwards to get to work and so have been greeted with sunrises that would be more at home in Mordor than Midlothian (as my colleague put it), and foregoing the shepherd’s warning I am in the garden as soon as possible.

The first big freeze came almost as soon as December began, and what little greenery that remained in the herbaceous borders acquiesced to the piercing cold. The soil, vermiculated by frost, heaved up into a great unworkable mantle making digging impossible. Luckily we’d saved the pruning of the raspberries and roses for such days so this is what we did, feet stamping, breath pluming. We had managed to get the dahlias under a duvet of straw the week before, and whilst I was cursing the messiness of the job and the itchy drive home I was grateful for its timeliness. Ever since the very cold winter of 2021 I’ve left our dahlias in the ground – in that year I dug, dried, and cleaned them all only to have them freeze in the shed instead, so now I take my chances and so far have been lucky. 

We have also been foraging great armfuls of winter foliage from trees in the parkland and garden to sell to local florists who took it to weddings, grand entranceways, wreathmaking workshops, and Christmas markets. It’s genuinely exciting to see what magic is made with what we gather from the estate, and it is heartening to think that there is a little bit of Preston Hall playing a part in so many Christmas celebrations. The great big holly hedge that encloses the Flower Garden has had its winter haircut too, emerging as a satisfying slab of greenery and the perfect counterpoint to winter’s déshabillé.

Once the ground thawed, we continued planting the tulip, narcissus, and grape hyacinth bulbs that were used for last spring’s pot displays. These we leave in the pots to die back before lifting, sorting, and replanting, and most of the time this works very well. We have also been kindly gifted some bare root roses, and so those will be planted in due course too. December is a short month for us as we close up the glasshouse and turn off all the taps before heading away for a well-earned Christmas break, and so all that’s left is for me to wish you a merry Christmas and a happy and healthful new year. Thank you for coming along with us so far, I’m looking forward to sharing more of the garden with you in 2025!

Kate