The clocks have gone back and the Aga is on again, so I have to concede that winter is knocking on the door.

It’s not a happy thought.

Much of the garden is uninspiring and messy, although the tall grasses in the autumn border continue to dazzle. The star turn at Spring Cottage is a tall molinia that turns gold in early September and stays upright on my spring-fed soil. It’s Molinia caerulea subsp. arundinacea ‘Karl Foerster’ and it does much better than my previous favourite: ‘Transparent’. Although this produced shimmering jet-black beads on the thin, dry soil of Hook Norton, where I used to garden, it flops horribly here without a hint of jet. I acquired my ‘Karl Foerster’ from The Plantsman’s Preference, a Norfolk molinia specialist which does mail order (plantpref.com/07799 855 559).

The nursery also has a wealth of other plants too. Hoecroft Plants (hoecroft. co.uk/01362 684206) are equally good at naming things correctly. There are lots of imposters on sale elsewhere. Tall grasses are glorious in November, but sadly very few fresh flowers emerge now. Perhaps the odd flower might appear on the Winter iris (I. unguicularis), or Clematis ‘Freckles” may throw a flower or two before its midwinter flush, or the autumn- flowering snowdrop Galanthus reginae-olgae might manage to escape the slugs and actually perform for once. You also might be able to enjoy the lingering Kaffir lily, once schizostylis but now Hesperantha coccinea, in one of its forms which vary from copper-red, through shades of pink, to white.

However, some of the mahonias do flourish in November and they include the readily available H. x media ‘Winter Sun’, a prickly upright evergreen with fragrant spikes of flower that fountain upwards. Usefully it’s capable of performing in shade, where it shines out. Please don’t confuse it with the scruffy, low- growing American Oregon Grape mahonia (Mahonia aquifolium), often mass planted on roundabouts and in supermarket car parks. It may serve a purpose there, but never in a garden. Mahonias are one of the many shrubby plants that found themselves growing on opposite sides of the world once continental drift took place. There are about 70 evergreen species found in woodlands and rocky areas of the Himalaya, East Asia, Central and North America.

Viburnums, hamamelis, acers and magnolias found themselves in the same situation, slowly evolving on opposite sides of the world. When the plant collectors finally managed to get into China in the early years of the 20th century, collectors such as Ernest ‘Chinese’ Wilson sent back Asian plants to establishments such as The Arnold Arboretum. Once in place the cousins were reunited and produced hybrids (always identified by an ‘x’ in the name) that were more vigororous, easier to grow and often more desirable. That letter x can make a real difference. In the case of the mahonia the hybrid, Mahonia x media, occurred between two Asian species. One hardy and very fragrant parent was M. japonica, introduced from a Japanese garden in 1850. The other parent was the less hardy M. lomariifolia, introduced from Yunnan in China in 1931. The original plant is still growing at Hidcote Manor in Gloucestershire, up a warm wall close to the area set aside for tender alpines. The first named hybrid, ‘Charity’, was found in Savill Garden at Windsor and released in 1959. ‘Faith’ and ‘Hope’ duly followed. Other named forms include the earlier-flowering ‘Lionel Fortescue’.

However ‘Winter Sun’ (from Ireland in 1966) is generally the most highly regarded, with pleasantly fragrant larger flowers in a subtle yellow.

 

 

Looking good

Viburnum x bodnantense

A large erect hybri d between V. farreri and V. grandiflorum first found at The Edinburgh Botanic Garden in 1933 and then at Bodnant in 1935. It produces flushes of pink flowers from November onwards — whenever the weather allows. ‘Dawn’ is the best pink.

 

Hesperantha coccinea ‘Jennifer’

Not as spectacular as the copper-red ‘Major’, but easier to grow, although always in moist soil.

 

A great read

The Gardens of Venice and the Veneto

This gardening book should brighten the winter gloom, with fascinating stories about the Venetian gardens that inspired the literary glitterati,  including Henry James. By Jennie Condie, published by Frances Lincoln, £35