In this post, one of our garden support workers and practitioners, Phil, takes us on a wintery walk through the Whitworth Art Garden. Read all about this year’s autumn planting and which plants are starting to make an appearance now the cold is setting in.

One of the many pieces of feedback from our visitors is that they appreciate the changes seen in the gardens as we approach winter. The seasonal changes may occur naturally as the leaves start to go amber and brown and the flowers turn to seed. Behind the scenes however, volunteers and the GROW community group contribute maintenance hours across all the gardens.

This year, autumn planting has focused on the shady areas in the Art Garden and the beds under the sycamore and London plane on the Sculpture Terrace. Around the edge of the beds you will find Tellima grandiflora and Brunneras which will create a border of ground cover. Behind these are low flowering perennial Stachys and Astrantia. Towards the middle of the beds we’ve planted Anthriscus and Althaea. Scattered throughout the borders are a number of ferns including Polystichum and Polypodium. Digitalis purpurea provides height within the borders and work well under the trees.

As the winter progresses, the tall perennials such as the Eupatorium maculatum and the Aster umbellatus continue to provide interest with their autumn colours before being cut back. Any pesky native perennials are pulled from the ground in the Art Garden to reveal the bulbs just slightly popping through. These natives are able to thrive in other areas such as the meadow and community garden, allowing for diversity.

A special mention to all the volunteers and group who contribute to make this happen seamlessly.

– Phil