Snowdrops and Catkins at Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens

I managed to "escape" to Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens for an hour or so yesterday afternoon. The weather conditions - cloudy, gloomy and windy - weren't ideal for photos but it was very quiet and peaceful there.

Even though its winter, the gardeners and volunteers were still hard at work.



The bare branches of the many espaliers make interesting "sculptures" against the bare walls.



The Gardens have many mature tree specimens - some with splendid gnarled bark.



Lady Bridgeman's Garden - which always has a display of seasonal plants



More daisies (Bellis perennis) were flowering in the stone trough in the Melon Ground







Daffodils are starting to come through in North Orchard



The Secret Garden



I was looking for a nearby wrought iron bench (I later discovered its been moved to the maze) but found another handy seat in a wall arch not far away.



Hellebores such as Helleborus foetides (sorry for lack of italics still can't seem to get them to work) or Bird's Foot are starting to flower



This looks like Rosemary in flower too!



And, best of all, the snowdrops and winter aconites are coming into bloom - there will be a stunning display in a few weeks







There are still lots of seedheads in the Extra Gardens and rose hips in the Upper Wilderness









In the Nut Ground I found hazel catkins (lamb's tails) - not a very good photo - the light was so poor I could only get a low shutter speed even on ISO 800 and it was very breezy there. The little female cones with red stigmas are also showing - I did get a photo but it was even poorer than the one below so I haven't bothered publishing it!



There are a lot of holly trees, bushes and hedges of several different varieties at the Gardens.







Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens blog (http://castlebromwichhallgardenstrust.blogspot.com - sorry I can't get links to work either! (think its something to do with security settings on the computer)) or see link on the right under "My Blog List" has a superb recent posting about Holly at the Gardens together with details of their Stargazing Event tomorrow night which looks as though it will be a great evening.

If anyone lives local to Solihull or Birmingham and wants to visit the Gardens they have a website at www.cbhgt.org.uk which has details of admission and forthcoming events including the Stargazing and a Snowdrop weekend next month.